Endless Horizon
by TheStanfordExperiment
Summary: A world as infinite as the powers she wields. A companion whose power is matched only by his anonymity. Elsa ran from the only home she ever knew, yet now all she desires is to run further. Anna seeks to bring her sister home, but dark conspirators roam the castle of Arendelle. Passion, fear, hatred and despondence clash as boldly as the sun on the horizon.
1. Chapter 1

**_Endless Horizon_  
**

Chapter One

Of all the things that wanted to hurt him in the world, heat, thankfully, was not one of them.

A big upside when you're running through the trees on a blisteringly hot summer day.

His feet flew like birds as he nimbly sprinted through the forest he had been trekking through for the past few hours. The familiar feeling of cloth brushing the top of his hair confirmed that his hood was still safely over his head.

His ears were tense, listening for any sign of those who were following him. One hand gripped his sword tightly. The other began to smoke.

He entered a clearing. Before the first arrow flew, he knew he had walked into a trap.

The sound of several clicks filled his ears as seven crossbows fired simultaneously, headed straight for his heart.

In a split second, he had thrust his hand to the ground, and an intense wave of fire burst out from him, deflecting the arrows with the force of the explosion. He lifted his head, his scarlet eyes lit with determination.

Seven Bankmen jumped from the shadows of the trees and charged at him. The one who got to him first thrust his straight sword at him. The red-eyed man drew his in a flash and parried the swipe, bringing his free hand around to deliver a blow to the vulnerable killer. Seeing him go down, he turned his attention to two others, who attacked him with knives. They slashed at him like dancing leaves, but he was quicker. The blades never hit their mark, and as they spun around once again to try and plunge the silver daggers into their target, he flipped over them and grabbed their heads, smashing them together with brutal force. They fell lifeless.

The fourth attacker was silenced with a sharp blow to the head with the hilt of his sword. The fifth fell to his blade. The sixth and seventh were unfortunate enough to receive a full blast of his flames.

He scanned around at his fallen pursuers. There were several groans.

Always a good sign.

He looked at his sword. Then he looked at one of the helpless Bankmen.

A familiar thirst spouted from his gut with animal-like ruthlessness. Gritting his teeth, he squelched the feeling.

Sheathing his sword with forceful anger, he took off through the trees once again. It had been like this for weeks. He'd be confronted by a group of bankmen, beat them all to groggy pulps, and then not two days later be attacked again. They were getting more persistent. And it wouldn't be long before his exhaustion caught up with him…

It was difficult to find a happy thought these days.

But if anything could help him forget just how hopeless his situation was, it was the rush he felt when he ran. The trees flying by him, his own breath coming in quick bursts, the adrenaline as he exercised his toned muscles. It was probably nothing healthy, but it at least helped him keep his sanity.

Upon leaping from a branch and landing, he looked up and found that he had reached the end of the forest. Then he saw quite a sight in front of him.

He had reached a large Kingdom. There was a large fjord hugging the shore of the town, and in the center of large body of water was an exquisite castle.

The red-eyed man smirked to himself, recognizing the place instantly. If Arendelle was anything, it was certainly memorable.

He looked closer, eyes furrowing a bit in interest. There were certainly a lot of ships in the harbor. Some sort of event must have been happening. Some ball perhaps? He wasn't dumb, but he wasn't exactly in the loop concerning local parties and politics.

The red-eyed man toyed with the idea of attending. For about a second. Then approximately fifteen reasons why that was a horrendous idea beat that idea to a bloody pulp.

So he sighed and turned away.

Then he was struck by a thought.

He had no business going to whatever was happening in the kingdom. He was, by all means, the most reclusive bastard in the world. He couldn't even take down his hood, let alone interact with others.

So why would the Bankmen look for him there?

His heart began to speed up with the thought of actually losing the accursed men. He calmed it, and thought rationally. If he went to this party thing and stayed there for the night, maybe even until morning, the Bankmen who by now were surely tracking him would have thought him to go past Arendelle.

He tried not to grin. It was crazy, and could fail horrendously, but the prospect of not having to worry about an ambush was too much for his willpower.

With a swish of embers, he took off towards the brightly lit town.

00000000000000000000000000000000

It didn't take long to find the source of the commotion. The castle was brightly lit, and the sound of jovial laughter and music could easily be heard.

Th red-eyed man leaned against the wall of the castle, underneath a balcony. His resolve was beginning to weaken a bit with the idea of mingling with people, especially people of such high status. He had hardly spoken out loud for years. He wasn't even sure that his voice worked anymore.

Then again, he'd been through a lot worse.

He looked at his reflection in the water. His ragged, worn clothes and hooded face would never pass at this party.

He thought hard. Revealing his face was not an option, but a hood in a place like this would certainly raise some flags.

Then he smirked, hatching another idea.

Flames slowly rose form his body, burning away his old clothes and replacing them with shiny, stylish formal wear, complete with laces, boots, and to his eternal shame, man-leggings.

To top it off, he waved his hand, and a black, brimmed hat appeared out of the flames, with gold and red imagery on it. Putting a little extra magic into it, he donned it and checked his reflection again.

He nearly fell over. He looked like a prince (aside from his face, which was hidden by the shadow his hat cast due to the magic he had put into it).

Smirking, he looked back up at the balcony. He was pretty sure this would be acceptable clothing.

Taking one last breath, the red-eyed man leapt up and grabbed a wayward brick. Pushing his legs against the wall, he jumped backwards and grabbed the lowermost part of the balcony. He carefully turned himself around so that he was now facing the castle again, and climbed over the railing swiftly.

Looking around, he saw that he was alone on the balcony. The door was open, but no one was looking through it.

_Successful infiltration._

Jarring himself from his fantasies of espionage, he put on a pair of freshly-made, coal colored gloves and entered the party.

There was some unique, yet oddly charming music playing in the corner of the room, and most of the guests were mingling in the center of the room. He grimaced. Last thing he needed was mingling…

Skirting around the edges of the group, he took the time to look around. This was a lovely room, with lush carpets and exquisite tapestries. He had been right to wear such formal clothing: nearly every person in the room was dressed in their best clothing.

He breathed. So far so good…all he had to do was stay here and remain inconspicuous.

Suddenly, his eyes zeroed in on the biggest buffet table he had ever seen in his life. It was piled high with punch, fruits, roasted insert-animal-here, and several other dishes he had never seen before.

His stomach growled. A life on the run didn't really provide much good food.

Trying as best as he could not to run over and scarf down the whole table, he walked in a dignified manner towards the glorious feast. He then snatched a plate and piled it high with food in the blink of an eye, slowly walking away once again.

He carefully deviated himself away from the crowd (as he had learned to do over the years) and positioned himself in an inconspicuous position.

Without going into the less-than-pretty details, the plate was empty in a matter of seconds.

He sighed in relief. Food like this was _not_ easy to come by.

His eyes wandered back to the table.

Grinning, he walked over for a second helping. His hand went for a bowl of chocolate, only to bump into another person's extended hand.

"Oop, sorry-"

"Sorry!"

He smiled and signaled for the woman before him to go first. She thanked him and gingerly took a couple pieces. Ignus inwardly thought that she'd have grabbed a lot more had someone not been watching her.

Looking at her, he realized the woman was quite cute. She had her ginger hair tied into a lovely bun, which clashed magnificently with her turquoise eyes. Her face had a few freckles, and she was wearing a very pretty green dress. Altogether, she looked very fetching.

The gentleman next to her must have noticed, as he was talking with her in a very informal and suave manner. He was wearing a white uniform and had some rather large sideburns, also a ginger color.

He looked at his own clothes, feeling a small tug of inadequacy.

As he nonchalantly put more food on his plate, he couldn't help but overhear some of what they said.

"-how exactly are we going to ask her?"

"I…oh…oh, man. How _are_ we going to ask her?"

"Well…you know your sister best-"

"Actually, I-"

"Oh! Right, sorry…well, maybe we should just be straightforward? Just tell her?"

"Yeah! That's perfect! You're amazing."

"_You're _amazing."

The red-eyed man felt like the word "amazing" had forever been ruined for him.

Trying not to vomit at the gushy nonsense he just overheard (as well as at the excess of meat in his gut), he walked away from the duo, dumping his plate.

There were so many faces in this place…it made him uncomfortable. He wanted to leave now that his appetite had been fulfilled, but he knew he had to stay longer if he was to completely fool the bankmen.

So he simply stood there awkwardly, flapping his hands at his sides, drumming lightly.

Then he saw someone across the room talking with two guests. His eyes widened just a bit.

He was looking at a woman whose face was easily the most attractive he had seen. Her platinum blonde hair was in a carefully tied bun as well, and her eyes looked like they were the color of a frozen lake. She was in an amazing…or, rather _breathtaking_ dress, complete with gloves and a very pretty tiara.

He couldn't stop sneaking glances at the woman. Then he noticed something else. The woman held the same posture that he had. Straight, perfect, practiced, and utterly, utterly fake.

It looked like she didn't want to be here as much as himself.

The two men walked away after nodding to her. He felt a twinge of uncertainty, but it faded gently.

_At least say hello._

And so, trying to act as casual as possible, he walked towards the lovely woman.

"Hello." He said to her, trying to sound cheerful. He tried not to marvel at the sound of his voice. It was much deeper than he remembered.

She immediately turned to look at him. She seemed a bit confused.

"Hello?" She answered uneasily.

He thought he had made a bad impression. She looked like he had just skipped over some sort of well-known tradition of speech.

"I hope I don't come across as forward. I'm not as socially aware as some of the other guests here today." Ignus said, sheepishly.

The woman gave him another confused, and somewhat offended look. He felt a bead of sweat.

"…I see." The woman answered coolly.

His stomach slowly twisted with embarrassment.

"Is there something you wished to discuss?" The woman asked him curtly.

_So formal…_

"Not particularly. I was just looking to talk to a kindred spirit."

The woman now looked more confused than ever, and was now looking at him suspiciously.

"Well, in all honesty, I'm not good with crowds. And, forgive me for being blunt, but it looks like you aren't either." He continued obliviously.

The woman's eyes widened a bit. She looked torn, like she couldn't decide whether to be offended or relieved.

She chose the first.

"That's a bit rude for you to assume, isn't it?" she responded icily.

_If an inner voice was a physical thing, I'd cut the damn thing out of my head..._

"I suppose so. My apologies." He said, lowering his head a bit, so the brim of his hat covered his eyes.

Elsa looked at him again. Something seemed to soften.

"No...I apologize." She said, suddenly. "I'm not accustomed myself to social matters. I can be a bit…"

"Cold?" He suggested, smiling.

The woman practically jumped out of her skin when he said it. It was like he had slapped her.

"Wh-what?" She spluttered.

Now _he_ was confused.

"Icy? Reserved? Introverted?"

The woman seemed to calm down.

"R-right. Well…yes. I can. So I apologize."

He nodded, content.

An awkward silence followed.

"What is your name?" She asked him, suddenly.

He hesitated. Names were dangerous in his situation.

But he had to say _something…_

"It's…Spice. Sir Spice."

The woman's eyebrows nearly shot off of her head. His brain slapped it's own forehead.

"Sir Spice?"

'Sir Spice' tried to swallow the humiliation at his spontaneous and equally stupid pseudonym.

"Yes. Foolish name, I know, but it's all I have."

The woman looked at him with caution.

"What Kingdom are you from?"

He tried to calm his nerves. He wanted to chat, but he wasn't getting _that _private…

"Before I answer, could I at least learn the name of the person that I've forced into this awkward and embarrassing conversation?" He asked her apologetically.

She almost laughed, covering it quickly. Then, with an air of mischief, she answered.

"My name is Elsa."

"Pleasure to meet you, Elsa."

"_Queen_ Elsa."

"Ah, sorry, Queen El-"

His brain ceased functioning.

"Queen...Elsa."

"Of Arendelle."

He felt every molecule in his body erupt into a frenzied explosion of humiliation.

Queen Elsa was obviously enjoying the show, smiling at his flustering, like a cat that had just informed a mouse that it was caught in a trap.

"And don't you think it's a bit strange that someone invited to my coronation would not even recognize me? Not even after the coronation procedure, in which everyone attending saw me and could easily identify me?"

The walls seemed to close in around him.

_Time to go._

"So, to me, it would seem that there are three possibilities, either you are blind, have an extraordinarily inadequate memory, or you are a party crasher."

_NOW._

"The fact that you can see my expression as well as your refusal to state your kingdom _and_ your informal speech convinces me of the latter." Elsa finished, dealing the final blow.

She stood straight.

"Take off your hat. Identify yourself."

Her request jarred him back to his senses.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He said evenly, channeling every ounce of skill he had as he slowly slid his feet apart, readying himself.

Elsa was not fooled. "Remove your hat or I will call the guards."

"Perhaps some punch would cool your heated thoughts?"

Elsa's face hardened. "Remove it or-"

"Punch it is, then!"

And without another word, he shot away from his poised stance, flawlessly disappearing into the crowd.

He swiftly moved between dancers and chatters, eventually coming to a halt behind one of the columns. He peered around it, and to his relief saw Elsa fruitlessly searching through the crowd, a frustrated look on her face.

He breathed out, feeling a painful sense of humiliation. There were not many ways that could have gone worse…it's what he got for talking to a pretty girl.

_Queen. You talked to a pretty Queen, you cock-up._

His self-criticizing thoughts ceased when he saw the cute red-head he had bumped into earlier run up to the Queen excitedly, Mutton-chops right next to her. The Queen was forced to discontinue her search for him. Ignus breathed in relief.

They said something in a rush, and the Queen's face dissolved into confusion. He watched as the faces went from excited, to confused, to hurt. Whatever they had asked her, it had obviously not gone so well…

Finally, the Queen gave them a curt statement and walked away. The redhead grabbed for her and took a glove, which seemed to frighten the Queen.

He felt a strange sense of foreshadowing. His face darkened.

The Queen was now walking away from the redhead, who looked ready to cry. Her voice rose into a shout.

"…why do you shut the world out? What are you so _afraid_ of?!"

"I said enough!"

The Queen dismissed the redhead with a wave of her hand.

Except she did more than wave.

A streak of blue flew from her hand, hit the ground and exploded into a series of spikes that menacingly stuck out at the party members.

Whatever piece of Ignus' brain remained from the ordeal he had just suffered through was now lost in a storm of bewilderment.

Because those spikes were as clear as crystal, and could only have been made of ice.

He felt his fingers catch fire in disbelief.

The Queen backed away in terror. She looked like her world had crumbled. Then she ran from the room, her cape swishing behind her.

He stared dumbfounded at the sight of the ice.

And then his feet moved.

00000000000000000000000000000000

He ran towards the front gates and saw a short man with a ridiculous white wig pointing at the Queen and shouting something. In the next moment, he flew backwards as ice exploded around him.

He was shocked. She was attacking people now?!

"Monster! MONSTER!" The man shouted angrily.

He winced at the word. It dredged up some very painful memories…

He thought about how Elsa had come across so coldly…and now it was easy to see why.

He charged past the old man, shouldering him with deliberate force and knocking the old coot onto his ass again, then raced after the Queen. He could hear a woman's voice crying out behind him.

He caught sight of the fleeing Queen nearing the like.

"Your majesty!" He called, hoping that she'd hear. If she did, she ignored him.

"I need to talk to you!" he tried again. The Queen was now at the edge of the water.

He walked down the stairs, thinking she wouldn't run anymore.

How jovially wrong he was.

The Queen stepped out onto the water, ice shooting out from her feet and freezing the lake. He was amazed at her abilities.

"I can't explain now, but please just-!" He called out, but he knew she'd never trust his words. The only thing to do was pursue her.

He looked down at the ice. Gritting his teeth, he ran out onto it, trying not to slip over it. She had just _run_ across it without even missing a step! How?!

He got about twenty feet before he heard an unpleasant cracking sound.

Looking down, he saw that his feet were causing the ice to melt. His excitement was causing his body temperature to increase.

He had about two seconds to say, "Ah, shit..."

Then he broke through the ice and into the water.

00000000000000000000000000000

Water was not good for the red-eyed man. At least, not when it was ice cold and surrounding him.

He awoke with a start, coughing violently. He groaned and spat out some lingering seawater, then looked around. He was lying on the shore of the castle. Miraculously, his hat had managed to stay on his head.

"Are you alright?"

He looked to his left to see the redhead sitting next to him, looking very worried. Beside her was Mutton-Chops.

"Y-yeah. Th-th-thanks." He managed through his chattering.

"Are you sure? You were under for a while before Hans pulled you out."

He looked from the redhead to the man with the Mutton-Chops (or rather, Hans.) Looking closer at him, he could see that he was soaking wet.

"It was no trouble." Hans said, smiling a bit.

"Of course it was! You nearly drowned!" The redhead gushed.

He felt a twinge of discomfort at the overly affectionate tone.

"Well, thank you. I'm not a very good swimmer." He lied. He was in fact a very good swimmer, but only in warm water.

Speaking of which…

He looked out at the lake. His eyes popped open. What was once a summer fjord was now a frozen tundra. The ships were stuck in the ice. Snow fell in the air.

This woman…this Queen…she was _seriously_ powerful.

"Incredible…" He breathed, taking in the sight.

Anna looked at him worriedly. "Did you see where my sister went?"

He whirled around. "Your _sister_?"

"Um…yes. I'm Anna. Princess Anna. That was my sister, Elsa."

He managed to swallow his surprise that someone like this "Anna" was actually related to the introverted Queen he had bumped into.

"Well…no. I only got out a few feet before..." He pointed to his wet clothes.

Anna looked out over the lake in worry. "Oh, Elsa…"

He stared out at the lake as well. His red eyes were stony with thought.

"She's powerful..."

Hans noticed his tone. "Did you _know_ about Queen Elsa?"

"No. Not until just now. Wait…did you _not_?"

Anna helplessly shook her head. "No."

He was now more confused than ever. Not only had she frozen over the kingdom, but she had never told her _sister _about her powers?

The image of the Queen's frightened face as she ran from the room re-appeared in his mind.

"Well…strange." He muttered.

"Why were you chasing her?" Anna asked, suddenly realizing the very fact.

He was silent. Truthfully, he just wanted to ask her about her powers. That was honestly about it. It sounded like such a poor excuse now that he considered it, but walking away from the sight he just witnessed simply didn't feel possible.

But he wasn't about to say that.

"I'll explain as we head back to the grounds." The red-eyed man said, getting to his feet.

Hans nodded and stood up as well.

"Lead the way." He said to Anna.

She immediately walked off up the stairs, Hans right beside her. Then, realizing something, she turned around.

"Wait, what did you say your name wa-"

She stopped.

The red-eyed man had taken the opportunity as soon as they faced the other way to disappear, climbing the nearby wall in a flash and hopping over the railing.

"Hello? Sir?!"

Anna's voice called out hopelessly as the red-eyed man remained where he was.

"Let's just go…" Hans said gently.

Anna hesitated, but acquiesced. "Who _was_ that guy…?"

He sighed, pulling a freshly-made hood up over his head. That was a very familiar phrase.

Then he turned his attention to the other side of the lake.

There was a clear path of ice leading up the hill he saw, leading into the mountains beyond. The Queen had no doubt gone that way.

He looked around again at the snow gathering around him with unabashed amazement. He _had _to know more about this Queen.

And…also perhaps convince her to undo whatever she was doing to Arendelle.

And so he flexed his arms and jumped from his balcony, using his own powers to jet himself towards the large slope, the lingering fire in the air slowly dying from the swirling snow buffeting the air.

0000000000000000000000000000000000

Elsa was playing with her hair.

Which may not be that strange, but she _never_ played with her hair. It was always in a lovely bun, or some elaborate braid. Now it was just…_there_. Free and flowing. Just begging to be played with. She almost giggled as she twisted it with her finger.

It was one of the many new freedoms Elsa was currently enjoying. It was hard to focus on anything aside from the fact that she could create as many snowballs as she wanted without harm.

No one could see her. No one could be afraid of her. No one could be _hurt_ by her. And it felt good. Her relief had even manifested into some sort of song that she came up with on a whim.

She blushed a bit. It was a good thing no one heard it. She must've sounded ridiculous.

The revelation of her freedom had hit her like a ray of sunshine out on the mountain, and she had gone from fearful and melancholy to jubilant and as excited as Anna on a-

Elsa's face fell.

Anna.

It was the only thing she regretted. She had left Anna without a word, without even a _goodbye_. She could still recall the shock in Anna's eyes after her powers were exposed.

Elsa shook her head swiftly. This wasn't the time to feel bad or to be upset. She was liberated at last!

With a smile, she flicked her hand, and a large, inexplicably-comfy-looking chair made from ice appeared in front of her. She almost giggled. It was, to be blunt, too darn fun.

As she sat in the chair relaxing, she took a moment to appreciate the silence around her. It was extraordinary…like everything in her fragile life had finally solidified, like the castle around her.

She sighed happily and closed her eyes, reveling in her quiet nirvana. She could have napped. Good lord, how long had it been since she had been relaxed enough to take a nap? It sounded like heaven.

_Crrreeeeeeeeak._

"Hello?"

Elsa's eyes shot open.

A wild panic tore through her euphoria like a fierce animal.

A voice had echoed through the castle. Someone had entered…_intruded_ into her home. Her only solace.

She should have felt anger, but all she felt was fear. How very like her.

She swiftly got to her feet and crept to the edge of her door, so she could just see over the balcony in front of her and down into the main foyer.

A single, solitary figure was standing in the middle of the room. It appeared to be a man. He was wearing very plain-looking clothes. A black climbing jacket with a red shirt beneath it, black trousers, and raggedy-looking boots. He was slowly spinning around, like he was taking in everything around him. And yet, to Elsa's confusion and alarm, his face was hidden by a hood pulled over his head.

Her breath came quick. What on earth should she do?! She didn't want to confront him, not when she had _finally _attained the solitude she sought, but he didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon…and he certainly didn't look friendly.

Then she had a genius idea. She would simply avoid him until he left. It was an enormous palace, and she could surely keep tabs on him while she moved around.

_Oh yes. Genius plan indeed._

Elsa silenced the skeptical part of her brain and retreated into her room. She could again her the person's voice.

"Queen Elsa?" Elsa's pulse spiked. "I don't mean to intrude…alright I'm probably intruding…but I mean you no harm. I only wish to talk!"

Elsa remained where she was, not trusting the man. The voice seemed familiar, but she wasn't sure where from.

"…alright then…"

The voice sounded a lot more dejected now. Her hopes rose a bit.

"I know you're probably…tense, after what happened down there…and I can understand that. To a startling degree…"

Elsa's fear was replaced with a derisive skepticism. Something told her he _didn't_.

"And…also, well…sorry, I just can't concentrate, this place is spectacular!"

The voice had now become excited. Elsa was a bit bemused by this person's fluctuating emotions.

"Did you make it by you-what am I saying, of _course_ you did…I've never seen anything like it."

There was a silence as Elsa attempted to calm the rush of pride she felt at the compliment.

"…you _are _here, right? Because…" The voice was much quieter now, "…this'll be a bit awkward if you're not…"

Elsa had to stifle a laugh. This man was as awkward as they-

She stopped. The voice finally clicked in her head.

_The man from the party?!_

"Queen Elsa?

Elsa held her breath. The stranger from the party had followed her. Was he some kind of stalker?!

"I realize you must not trust me, and you're absolutely right to. But I can't leave until I talk to you."

Elsa snuck a glance at the floor below, trying to see where the man was. He was now walking up the stairs.

She tried to calm down, thinking about her options.

Coming to a decision, she exhaled shakily. _Very well_._ But if he doesn't leave…_

Frost seeped from her hand.

Elsa stepped out of the room and onto the balcony. The man noticed immediately and turned to face her. Though his face was hidden, she could see his eyes widen as he looked at her. She was shocked to see that they were scarlet red.

Somewhere beneath her fear, she felt a sense of insecurity. No one had _seen _her in this dress before…she now was regretting including the open seam in her skirt that exposed her leg, especially when it was being seen by a man with those eyes.

The man seemed to be lost for words. Elsa put on a serious face.

"What do you want?"

The man hesitated before answering. Or perhaps it had taken him a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Only to talk." He answered in a dazed voice.

"You were the strange man at the party, correct? Sir _Spice_?"

"Ah…yes. That'd be me." The man had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed.

"You didn't honestly believe I'd fall for that, did you?"

"Well…it was the first time I had talked to someone in a _long _time. My impromptu abilities failed me."

"Then you did attend that party uninvited?"

"I did, yes."

"Then what is the true-"

Elsa's words ceased as she looked down. The ice around her feet had begun to whiten from her agitation.

She recoiled immediately. _What am I doing?!_

"N-nevermind, It doesn't matter! You aren't welcome! I don't care who you are or why you came, but you are not safe here! Leave!"

The man was obviously taken aback by this outburst. He looked very confused.

"What do you mean 'not safe'? This place looks sturdy enough, if you ask me."

"No, I mean-" Elsa turned away. "Just leave! I don't want to hurt you!"

When the man spoke again, he sounded indignant.

"Your majesty, I only came to talk. Is it necessary to threaten me?"

"I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you." Elsa said quietly.

She looked again at the man. His eyes now had an air of concern in them.

"I'm sorry…I don't understand, Queen Elsa."

"I'm not the Queen anymore! I just want to be left alone! So no one is hurt by me anymore…"

The image appeared in her mind again, the same image that had haunted her for her entire life. A slide. A snowman. An elated laugh. A scream. And a flash of blue.

And her sister lying motionless on the ground.

She could not let that happen again, to anyone.

"Now leave!" Elsa warned again, trying to sound forceful.

The man stood his ground, but there was no defiance in his eyes. There was instead a look of intensity, like he had decided something.

"Whatever you think you can do to me, I assure you that-"

"Enough!"

Elsa had tried to warn him, but she could feel the ice in her veins spilling over. She needed him to leave before she lost it.

So she would _make_ him leave…

Hoping this would work, her hands shot out, and a flash of blue lit the room. A swirling cloud appeared, manifesting slowly into the form of an enormous and ferocious-looking snow monster.

The man's jaw fell open.

The snowman snarled, already aware of it's purpose. It thumped towards the hooded man and extended his hand, aiming to grab him.

The man looked ready to run, but to Elsa's amazement, he did not move. Then she saw his eyes again. They almost looked like they had a fire burning within them.

"This is a bit more dramatic than I'd hoped it'd be, but..."

The snow monster clasped it's hands around the man.

Then it let out a yell of pain.

It's hands flew away, and to Elsa's utter bewilderment, she saw that they had been melted to the wrists.

She whirled her head back to the man. To her shock, she saw that steam was flying off of him, and she could hear the sizzle of the water boiling on him.

"Wh-what…?"

The man regarded her with warmer, almost apologetic eyes. Then he brought his hand up.

A bright flame sprung from his palm, glowing radiantly and making the reflective walls of her palace sparkle. For a few moments, the only movement in the room was the soft dancing of the flame.

Elsa felt her whole world flip.

The man in the hood said nothing, waiting.

Almost every inch of Elsa's brain erupted into bedlam. Confusion. Disbelief. Shock.

Sweet, sweet, relief.

"You…you can, too?"

The man silently nodded.

Elsa was filled with a desperate craving for understanding.

"Who are you?"

The man remained silent.

Elsa should have felt indignance, but she only felt a sense of desperation. She _needed _to know more about this fire man.

"Please. I…I need to know."

The scarlet eyes looked at hers for a moment, then looked away in refusal.

"I just came up here to talk."

Elsa was taken aback. "Why?"

"Because…I've never met _anyone_ with abilities similar to mine. Ever. And I've met a lot of people over the years."

Elsa gazed at him. Then a silly request escaped from her mouth.

"Can you show me more?"

It was quite immature of her, really. But the man almost looked amused. With a wave of his hand, a stream of fire flew from his hands, swirling around her and spiraling into the air, where it vanished in a puff.

Elsa was at a loss for words. She let out an elated laugh that almost immediately dissolved back into a look of shock.

"You…I mean how…"

Then her mind solidified into one, desperate plea.

"How do you control it?!"

The man's eyes opened in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Please!" Elsa almost grabbed him. "Please tell me!"

"Your majesty…you mean you _can't_?"

Elsa felt a surge of shame. It was so bizarre, yet so embarrassing. She had never met anyone who could even remotely do what she could, and yet now that she had, she felt a completely inadequate.

"I…" She swallowed. "No. I can't."

The man seemed stunned. "But…this place!"

"I mean…I can when I'm alone, but…"

She looked down. "I spent my whole life hiding my powers from others. To…conceal and not feel. It's become my mantra."

She expected more confusion from the man. Instead, his eyes reflected nothing but sympathy.

"I'm sorry. It was just so spectacular, what I saw down there…I didn't mean to sound arrogant."

"No, no, it's…it's okay." Elsa assured him.

Then she realized something. She laughed once.

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation." She said, smiling in amazement.

The man misunderstood, looking embarrassed. "I don't mean to be intrusive-"

"No, no! Not that…I just never expected to _ever_ meet anyone with whom I could talk with about magic powers…at least on even ground, anyways."

The man smiled. "Me neither, your majesty."

She gave him another look.

"You still won't tell me your name?"

The man continued to look at her.

Elsa smiled, a new sense of fun burrowing into her brain. "Very well. I'll give you one."

The man almost laughed. "If that's what you want."

Elsa thought for a moment, not entirely sure if she was serious about this.

"I'll call you Brann, then."

The man really did laugh this time. "Imaginitive."

"You're the one refusing to identify yourself! And if I can't know your name, I'll simply identify you by your fire." Elsa said smartly.

The man cowed a bit, an uneasy smile on his face.

"Fine. Brann it is."

"Excellent."

Elsa stared at his hidden face a bit longer. She was finally free for the first time in her life, yet now all she could think about was finding out more about this strange man.

"Oh, and…your majesty-"

"Elsa. Just Elsa is fine. I'm not really a Queen anymore, anyway…"

"Elsa…if you want…I'd be honored to help you.

Elsa felt like someone had just handed her the keys to paradise.

"Thank you." She answered, trying not to sound too desperate at the prospect of never having to hide her powers again.

"I mean…I don't know how much I could help, but I'll try to-"

"It's okay!" Elsa assured him, surprised at his flustered state. "I think any help is good help."

The man she had named Brann smiled again. His eyes had a soft and excited glow to them.

"Then let's get started, shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"This is…unnatural! Can such power truly exist in this world?"

"You saw for yourself, ambassador! That woman, that WITCH, she's cursed this land with her sorcery!"

"Control yourself, your lordship!"

"Control myself!? The sweat is freezing to my brow and you tell me to _control_ myself?! We are all in grave danger! And might I add that we now have no way to return to our homes now!"

"Gentlemen, I realize the situation is…unprecedented at the least, but we must try to keep our heads on. We must think of the citizens first."

"I'd rather think of keeping myself from freezing over, thank you very much!"

"Perhaps _that_ would keep that ridiculous wig of yours stuck to your head…"

"Excuse me?!"

It was to this general bedlam that Anna and Hans found themselves entering the main square of Arendelle.

"What are we going to do?" Hans asked her in concern.

Anna looked very serious. "I'm going to bring her back."

"What? Not by yourself, you're not!" Hans objected instantly.

"Hans, She'd never hurt me. And I'm the only one she'd want to see right now, probably."

"Well…honestly it's not just her I'm worried about…that strange man in the fjord…"

Anna understood at once. "You think he went after Elsa too?"

Hans nodded.

"Why? What does _he_ want from her?"

"It's anyone's guess. But his anonymity…it bothers me. We don't even know what kingdom he was from, or his name. And truth be told, his face did not look like that of royalty. More like someone who's been in a few fights. And the way he chased after your sister…"

Anna felt a sinking feeling. But her resolve remained intact.

"I need you here, Hans, to look out for everyone while I'm gone. I know Elsa would never hurt me. And I also know that if that weird guy doesn't mean well, she'll protect me too. Who could stand up to her?" She finished with an encouraging smile.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"How does it feel?"

"Hm?"

"I mean…when you shoot fire. How does it feel?"

"Oh. Well…I'm not quite sure how to describe it…it's a bit like flexing a muscle. Just a part of my body that I'm exercising."

Elsa breathed in amazement. "You really have total control."

The man she had named Brann shrugged a shoulder, looking humble. "Not completely. My fingers catch fire occasionally when I get excited."

Elsa lightly laughed. "Really?"

"Yes. It happened down at the castle when I saw you use your magic for the first time."

Elsa smiled, but felt another tug of guilt. Brann seemed to notice.

"Still bothers you?"

Elsa sighed. "Of course it does."

"Maybe you should go back then."

"No. No, I belong here. Alone. I can…I can be myself here. And I don't have to worry about hurting anyone."

"But that's not what you want."

"Maybe it's what I deserve." Elsa said quietly, looking down at the floor.

She and her scarlet-eyed guest had been talking in the middle of her palace for the last few hours. She had asked him everything, from his background to his name, to his powers, if he had any siblings, if he could cook an egg on his hand, if he got sunburned. It was almost embarrassing how many questions she had.

Unfortunately, Brann had been as tight-lipped as he had for his name. He did not speak about his past at all, not even a hint. He did say that he had never tried to cook an egg like that before, but would do so the next chance he had, and he could not get sunburned.

Slowly, the conversation was now turning towards herself.

"Queen Elsa-"

"Elsa, please."

"Right…sorry." Brann said with a smile. "Elsa. Being alone can be refreshing. It can certainly be liberating. But no one wants to be alone forever."

"I've been on my own for years. This is life for me." Elsa said, simply.

Brann's eyes were now confused again. It was lucky his bright eyes could reflect him so much, as it was otherwise very difficult to see what he was feeling from the shadow covering his face.

"What do you mean on your own? Didn't you have your sister? The peppy redhead?"

Elsa felt another melancholic tug.

"I…no. It was just me."

She didn't say anything further. It was still too much to talk about, even all these years later. And though he seemed nice, Brann was still a stranger to her.

His head lowered. "I see…"

A silence passed.

"Well…maybe that can change. Maybe if you can help me learn to control it I can…you know." Elsa remarked, feeling a new sense of hope.

Brann looked up again, smiling at her. "I will do my best."

Elsa rose from her seat. "Wonderful. How should we start?"

Brann stood up as well. Then he paused. He put a hand on the back of his hood awkwardly.

"Um…I've never _taught_ anyone anything before…bear with me, please."

"Take your time." Elsa assured him. "We have plenty of it."

Brann relaxed. "Okay…try creating something for me."

Elsa hesitated. "Um…like what?"

Brann almost snorted. "Like _what_? You create a castle of perfection without a second thought and now the imagination keg is empty?"_  
_

Elsa raised an eyebrow, feeling just a tinge of warmth in her cheeks. Brann flushed at his blunt terminology.

"Sorry…I was raised in a rural area. Grew up with a bit of slang."

"Indeed." Elsa said, her lips curling as a mischevious idea formed in her head.

"Okey dokey then, Brann, whattaya want me ta build ya?" She asked him, intentionally mangling her otherwise perfect speech.

Brann had the appropriate reaction. "I don't sound _that_ bad!"

"You're quite close."

"I'm not some _hick_!" Brann said in offense.

Elsa laughed again. How long had it been since she had laughed as much as she was now? Though she knew so little about him, it was a fantastic feeling to actually be able to talk to and joke with someone. She had sometimes wondered if she even _had _a sense of humor.

Jolting herself back to the present, she concentrated and let her powers go free, like she had before.

Instantly, an ice sculpture manifested in an icy spiral right next to Brann. It looked exactly like a horse.

Brann breathed in amazement. "You're _certain_ you're not in control?"

Elsa felt a rush of pride, but tempered it. "I'm afraid so."

Brann put a hand on the sculpture, inspecting every inch of it. "This is flawless. You realize that? Not a single inch out of place! And you made it instantly!"

Elsa actually blushed this time. "It's not much…"

Brann smirked. "That blush says otherwise."

Elsa looked away, feeling a burning embarrassment. _Curse this pale face_!

"Ah. I see."

Elsa's eyes opened at the sudden change in Brann's tone. He now sounded very serious. Looking at him, she saw that he was staring at her feet with a solemn expression.

"What is it?"

Elsa followed his gaze.

To her horror, the ice around her feet had begun to whiten and spike with ugly fashion, no doubt from her rush of embarrassment.

She choked back a gasp. She moved backwards in fear, only to have even more white erupt from the stain in the ice.

"N-no!" Elsa cried in anguish as she realized what was happening. Brann's calls were lost in the chaos that her mind was devolving into.

It was always like this. The hope that maybe she could control it. The attempt. The mistake. And the cruel loop that followed. Her fear caused her powers to run rampant, which in turn caused more fear.

And she could never escape it.

"Elsa!"

Her thoughts ceased as she remembered the man standing in the room with her. He was staring right at her and yelling something.

"What makes you happy?! Think of something that makes you happy!"

"Th-that won't work! I've tried so many times-"

"I promise you it will work! Trust me!"

"Trust you? _Trust you_?!"

Elsa's fear was stoked with indignance. "I know _nothing_ about you! Not even your name! Why should I trust you?!"

Her reason had been lost. She forgot about their relieving conversation earlier. All she could think about now was how she was still, to her frustration and despair, still trapped in a cage by her powers.

The air around her had now grown into a flurry. Fear turned to frustration. Frustration to anger. Anger to despair and then back to fear.

She would have likely stayed that way had she not felt the sudden rush of heat scorch the air.

The blizzard ceased immediately. Elsa's eyes shot open in shock. The fear in her was quelled by the surprise she felt.

Brann was on fire. His entire body was covered in flames. His face now looked like a roaring hearth with glowing eyes.

Elsa felt a new surge of wonder at this sight.

Finally, after a moment, Brann's body reappeared, the flames dying out slowly. He stood still for a moment, simply looking at Elsa.

Then he smiled softly. "I guess I understand the problem now."

Elsa looked down, feeling ashamed.

He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Elsa recoiled at once, leaping away from him.

Brann's eyes looked at her with concern.

"S-sorry…" She said, sheepishly. "I've…I can't remember the last time someone touched me."

"Because of the ice?"

Elsa nodded once.

Brann waited a moment, then put his hand on her shoulder once again. She winced slightly, but felt a small rush of relief. His hand was very warm.

"I know how you feel." Brann said simply. "And I don't blame you for not trusting me. That wasn't right of me to say."

Elsa waited for him to say more, but he was done talking about it. Once again, he denied her any solid truth.

Pushing down the slight resentment, she looked at him again. "What do I do?"

Brann released his hand. "You're powers are tied almost exclusively to your emotions, it seems. Even more so than mine are. If you're feeling afraid and sad, they spiral out of control, trying to keep you to yourself."

He put a hand to his chin. "How were you feeling when you built this castle?"

Several words popped into Elsa's mind. _Free. Alive. Happy. Relieved._

"Good." She said simply.

Brann smirked. "Seems like you were a bit _more_ than good, your majesty."

"Elsa."

"Oh, I know." Brann said.

Elsa realized he was teasing her. She gave him a look.

In the few short hours that she had met him, she had come to discover that he was quite a character (though she had already known that during the catastrophic chat at her coronation.) He was so mysterious, yet he had a very light and joking sense of humor. He also seemed quite kind, the way he decided to help her without even so much as a hint of a reward.

Yet she still knew that she couldn't trust him. Not just yet. He was too…anonymous.

"Well, it seems to me that if you were in a happy mood, you'd have a lot more control."

Elsa had guessed this herself, but was unsatisfied with it. "But what happens if I'm not happy? I won't be happy every day of my life!"

"One bridge at a time." Brann said. "So what makes you happy?"

Elsa thought for a moment. It was sometimes difficult to find happy thoughts…

"Feeling in control." She said finally.

"…anything else make you happy?"

"Well…I suppose I enjoy sunrises."

"And?"

"And…and my sister. Anna. She makes me very happy."

Brann crossed his arms, surprised. "I thought you said you didn't talk with your sister?"

"I didn't. That doesn't mean she didn't try to talk to me." She smiled in remembrance. "She would slip me notes from under my door, try to speak to me in morse code with knocking, she even wrote me a message on the outside of my window using the fogged glass and her finger."

Ignus laughed. "How'd that work out?"

"Not so well, I'm afraid. She had forgotten to write it backwards so that I'd find it legible."

Ignus laughed again. Elsa felt a twinge of relief. For all his enigmatic behavior, at least the man could laugh heartily.

He collected himself. "That's funny. She sounds wonderful."

"She is…" Elsa said quietly. Her expression sombered.

"But…I could never respond to those messages. I could never answer her."

She didn't see Brann's eyes, but his voice sounded gentle.

"That must have been hard."

Elsa didn't say anything.

"So…like I said earlier…maybe I deserve to be alone up here…for what I did to her…"

"That is not true."

Brann's statement roused Elsa. She looked at him with half-gratitude, half-shock.

"I deserve some! I ruined her childhood! I ruined _our_ childhood!"

"From what I understand, you did it to protect her. You did something almost no one else could do. And you've suffered more than many deserve." Brann's voice was hard and fierce, like the very words he was speaking were made of fire.

Elsa had tried to convince herself of this many times, that she was doing the right thing, yet her heart had never been able to be swayed. Yet hearing someone else say it, even a stranger, felt so much more powerful.

It was with this in mind that Elsa asked him.

"Why do you care so much?"

At the moment, Elsa didn't realize the possible misrepresented connotation of her question. She only wanted an answer.

Why, for all that's good, did this stranger seek to aid her so much? To help her?

Brann seemed a bit taken aback. But he appeared to arrive at an acceptable answer.

"I'm not quite sure. I'm not typically a people person. But turning my back on someone who's been through something similar to my-"

He cut himself off. Sighing he started again.

"You deserve help. Guidance. So you can have the life you want."

A lump welled in Elsa's throat. She felt more humbled than she ever had in her life.

"I…I'm just…"

Brann took a step closer and smiled. "A good person."

Elsa almost smiled.

"Say it with me."

"What?" Elsa said, startled by his request.

"I told you I'm not a good teacher. So we start with basic repetition. Say it!" He urged.

"I-I'm a…"

Brann smiled encouragingly.

"I'm a good person." Elsa repeated, feeling only a bit foolish.

"And you're a good sister."

"I-I'm a good sister."

"Now look down."

Elsa complied once again. She gasped.

The ice, which had before been fogged white and uneven, was now smoothing out into a lovely, clear blue color.

Excitement jolted through her like lightning.

For the first time in her life…she felt some control.

A smile broke out on her face. Then it expanded into an elated grin.

Then she let out an excited laugh and hopped several times in place. She was acting like a child, and she couldn't care less.

Brann was obviously overwhelmed by this display, as he looked utterly bewildered. But he grinned nonetheless at her happiness.

Elsa put a hand on her face in embarrassment. "I feel like I'm being taught by a kindergarten teacher with these tactics."

Brann shrugged, communicating 'Whatever works.'

"You can learn to do it."

Elsa calmed herself with difficulty. She simply beamed.

"I can learn to do it."

And this time, she truly believed it.

0000000000000000000000000000000

"…do you understand?"

The Duke's henchman nodded grimly. They had been told all they needed to hear.

Without a word, they walked away to join Hans' group. The Duke watched them with beady eyes.

In about fifteen minutes, the group departed, headed for the mountains. The Duke and other officials walked towards the castle to take shelter from the cold.

The Duke shivered with anxiety. This storm was getting worse. The Queen had to be dealt with…which coincidentally, would leave Arendelle's profitable resources open for exploitation.

The Duke smirked. At least there would be a silver lining to the tragic death of the Queen.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when a nearby peasant approached him, covered in a scarf and shivering.

"Beggin' yeh sir…blankets for my family?"

"Wh-I am not the one to talk to about that!" The Duke responded, recoiling slightly. "Direct yourself at someone else."

"Oh, sorry sir. But I believe it's only you out 'ere."

The Duke looked around. To his surprise, the block was now empty, everyone having taken shelter.

"Well, it doesn't matter. I can't help you. Begone." The Duke said rudely, walking away.

He stopped when his arm was twisted painfully behind his back.

A hand covering his mouth silenced his cry of pain.

"Shut your gawk and listen, old man." The peasant whispered behind him in a much more terrifying tone.

"Information. That's all I need. You tell me about someone, and I let you walk away with four working limbs."

The Duke nodded, terrified.

"A man in raggedy clothes with a hood over his head. Scarlet eyes. Tell me if you've seen him."

The assailant released his hand, and the Duke breathed in a huff.

"I...I haven't seen anyone of the sort! how am i to distinguish someone so GYAH!"

Another wrench. "He also controls fire. Remembering anything _now?_"

"Wh-what? There's someone _else_? AAGGH!"

His arm twisted further.

"What do you mean, someone _else?!_" The voice growled with anger and confusion.

"Th-the Queen! The Queen of Arendelle! She too possesses witchcraft, like this man you describe, should it be true. ACK!"

His bone felt like it was bending in two. The man was silent.

"He'd never be able to resist speaking to someone like that…"

He leaned in.

"Where is this woman?"

"The Queen? She fled to the North Mountain!"

Silence. Then his arm was released.

The Duke grabbed it with his other hand and massaged it furiously. Whirling around, he saw to his horror that the man had disappeared.

He took in a shaky breath. Witchcraft. Killers. This town was a madhouse.

The sooner that Queen perished, the sooner he could leave. And it looked like whatever conversation he had just suffered had sent more men on her tail.

He smirked, despite himself.

_Silver lining…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note – ****LovelySheree made a lovely colored drawing of Ignus as King (or captain of the guard, whatever pleases you). I highly recommend checking it out on deviantart.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

Chapter 3

How on earth had he ended up here?

Not even a day ago he had been fighting deadly mercenaries, running for his life, and crashing a party disguised as some sort of officer of spice. And now he was standing in a palace made of ice beside a mountain top trying to aid a stunningly beautiful woman with her magical ice powers.

Bit of a jump, really.

A little voice reminded him that all of this was, in fact, his doing. Brann sighed silently. It was true. The only one to blame for being here was he. And yet he wasn't regretting it. Much as he thought that this was a bad idea, that he would only complicate the matter, he couldn't bring himself to walk away from her.

He didn't quite know what to make of Elsa at first, aside from the fact that she was very good-looking and wielded magic similarly to himself. He figured she'd be like all the other royalty he'd met over the years while he was running from place to place: spoiled, arrogant and simply unlikeable, or at the very least uninterested in speaking to a traveler like himself.

Never had he been so happy to be wrong.

Upon hearing Elsa's story, and how she kept herself hidden for fear of losing control of her powers, Ignus had understood her true meaning at once. She had feared for her sister, Anna. She was afraid of hurting others. Even more so than being shunned because of her abilities.

Brann was beyond impressed. Putting others above oneself, especially with something as frightening and harrowing as what she had gone through, was much easier said than done. He himself, while certainly not having an ideal or even a somewhat good childhood, had never needed to conceal his powers nor cut himself off from those he loved.

From her concern, as well as the few stories she told him about Anna, Brann could tell that she truly loved her. Anna was probably the only thing that had kept her sane over those cold, lonely years.

Brann's heart had wrenched a bit (which had not happened in a _long_ time).

Elsa wasn't a good person.

She was possibly the best and strongest person Ignus had ever met.

Perhaps that was why he was helping her. Not out of pity, but out of a sort of duty almost. Like he was giving her the reward she so rightfully earned after all those years of isolation. He _wanted_ her to be happy.

"Are you okay?!"

Elsa's worried tone jolted Brann's out of his thinking. He looked at her with surprise.

"Wh-yeah! I'm fine! Why do you ask?"

"Your hands!"

Brann looked down at his hands, which were enclosed around Elsa's. To his mild surprise, they were beginning to ice over.

Then his brain picked up the slack.

"Holy-!"

Brann made a muffled cry and withdrew his hands, hastily lighting them. The fire slowly melted away the numbing ice.

"I'm so sorry!" Elsa cried, looking ashamed.

"It's fine! Trust me it's fine." Brann assured her rapidly, holding up his hands for her to see. They were ice-free.

Elsa relaxed, but still looked uncomfortable. "Is this _really_ the best way to do this? It seems…hazardous to you…"

Elsa was referring to Brann's "training exercise". He would put his hands around Elsa's hands. She would attempt to keep herself from freezing them for as long as possible. If she ever lost control, Brann would simply melt his hands.

Really what was more distressing to him was the fact that he was holding hands with a woman like Elsa. Once again, he was glad his face was hidden, lest she see the reddening of his face every time they partook in this exercise.

"I'm alright. Really." Brann said again. "And I do think this is a good way to start. This way you can try to control your powers, but no real harm comes to anyone should you…you know."

Elsa looked down. "Yeah…"

Brann sighed. She was losing hope.

He couldn't stop himself from speaking.

"Look, if you manage to control your powers for a bit, I'll tell you something about myself. As a trade-off."

Elsa's eyes widened a bit. "Truly?"

Brann was silent.

This was not something he felt comfortable with. At all.

But he owed her _something…_

He groaned. "Yes. Truly."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't completely hide her excitement. Looks like she was as curious about him as he thought.

He steeled his nerves and put his hands around Elsa's once again. She flinched slightly, as she usually did, but she seemed to concentrate much harder this time.

Brann felt a bead of sweat. Something told him she'd finally find success this time…

Sure enough, after a minute of silence, Brann could feel no numbing sensation, and could see no traces of ice on his hands.

Elsa smiled happily. Brann felt his reluctance shrink a bit at seeing that.

"Now then…" Elsa said, expectantly.

Brann hesitated.

"…My name's not Brann."

Elsa's eyebrow shot up.

"Really now?"

"I said I'd tell you something about myself…never said it was something you didn't _know_…"

Brann was quite pleased with that little loophole, but he felt like a weasel. Elsa's disappointed look was not helping.

He took a breath.

"Alright, alright...I grew up in a town called Winter's Hearth."

Elsa perked at once. "Winter's Hearth? I haven't heard of it before."

"Yeah. It's small. I've been traveling a lot since I l-left."

Brann inwardly cursed himself. Thankfully, Elsa didn't notice him stutter through that little lie.

"I see. You enjoy traveling?"

Brann almost laughed. "Traveling? Yes." _But I haven't exactly been 'traveling'…_

"What's it like?"

Brann swallowed, ignoring the rush of panic.

"It-it's nice…it's uh…cozy. I mean, it's very warm, has a lot of lanterns so it doesn't get too dark…people there are very nice, most of the time."

Elsa smiled. "I've read about that too."

Brann looked back up, noticing something. "You _read_ about it?"

"Yes. I spent quite a long time in the Arendellian library. I must have read every book in there by now. It was my own safe haven where I went to get away."

"And you remember this one little town? Out of _all _the books you read?" Brann asked, impressed.

Elsa seemed to realize how odd that was. "Well, I suppose it's a bit strange. I just typically don't forget what I read."

Brann gave her a very impressed look. "So, due to the fact that you read an entire library, you're somewhat of a genius?"

"Wh-no!" Elsa said, flustered. "Of course not…there's a difference between memory and intelligence."

"Well, I'd say you're quite talented in both departments." Brann remarked.

Elsa smiled uncertainly. Brann felt another uplifting sensation. He liked it when she smiled…

"Tell me something else." She asked, suddenly.

"I just did."

"And since then, it seems I have gained considerably more control." Elsa responded, indicating his still-unfrozen hands. "I believe more is in order."

He ground his teeth a bit in frustration.

"Maybe intelligent is the wrong word. _Cunning_ seems more appropriate." He said, a bit sullenly.

Elsa gave him a half-apologetic, half-smug look.

Sighing, Brann relented.

"I was a bartender."

Elsa eyes' widened a bit with amusement. "A bartender?"

"Yes, yes, giggle away. I learned at a young age how to help my father work his inn. I dealt with all kinds of people, kind men, scoundrels...you get the idea."

Elsa smiled at him.

"That sounds like fun."

Brann felt his hands heat up a bit. He hastily cooled them.

"It was."

His emotions were flying all over the place. The expressionless façade he had perfected was crumbling around his ears, and Elsa was noticing.

"…is everything okay?" She asked, looking concernedly at his eyes.

"Yeah…yeah." Brann repeated, managing to put a lid on it.

Elsa looked unconvinced, but decided to drop it.

"So…" She said conversationally. "Your eyes are scarlet."

"Yeah…they are." Brann said, feeling his self-consciousness skyrocket. His uncommon eye color was excellent for intimidation, but less so for more sociable situations. Unfortunately, it wasn't something he could change.

"Was that a result of your powers?" She asked again, innocently.

And Brann's mind flashed back. Violently.

He was on fire. His eyes had gone scarlet. He could smell scorched flesh and timber burning in the air as he set fire to everything and anything he saw. He was a walking sun of desolation, reducing everything to ash behind him-

"OUCH!"

Quick as a whip, Brann's hands flew away from Elsa's. One of them had an angry burn mark on the otherwise snowy skin.

Brann felt a plummeting sensation in his stomach.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry…" He said, putting his hands around the back of his head in shame.

Elsa looked shocked, and for a moment looked at him silently, but she then spoke evenly.

"Well…I suppose we're even now?"

Brann rushed over to her.

"Here, I'll get rid of that for you…" He said, extending his hands.

"Get rid of? What do you mean?" Elsa said, keeping her hand away from what she must have now considered miniature bonfires.

"I can heal burns. Not much else, but I can fix those."

Elsa's eyes widened. "You can _heal_ people?"

"Only burns and other minor injuries. Now, if you let me see our hand, I can help."

Elsa hesitated. He didn't blame her.

Then to his very big surprise, she smiled.

"Sorry…" She apologized quickly. "It's just that…well, I'm a bit relieved that you aren't _miles_ ahead of me…I was feeling inadequate."

Brann smirked. "Well, holding hands with a pretty girl can sometimes result in that."

He had meant for that to sound light-hearted and friendly. Elsa's silence and blush told him that the words came out as anything but.

His brain took another trip downstairs to smash what was left of his idiot heart into a quivering paste.

"I mean, a Queen." He said hastily. "Y'know, because I'm just some hick and you're royalty…I mean, it's a bit humbling I suppose."

"R-right. Yes." Elsa said.

Brann tried to stop his hands from shaking as he put them once again around Elsa's. There was a soft glow, and Elsa shivered with relief. When he took his hands away, there was once again nothing but the lovely glow of her skin on Elsa's hands.

He squelched his thoughts again. It was _skin_. Not lovely, glowing skin.

_No, It's _Elsa's _skin…_

_SHUT UP._

"Wow…" Elsa whispered, looking at her healed hand. "Amazing."

"I'm sorry again about that." Brann said.

She looked at him, smiling. "It's okay. No harm done."

The her gaze gloomed over a bit. "But…are _you_ alright? You seemed so…tense when I asked about your home."

Brann breathed. "Yeah. I'm good."

Elsa clearly wasn't satisfied with that. Ignus exhaled vehemently.

"I...I didn't have the best childhood, Queen Elsa, like yourself. And not all of us do things by choice."

The words seemed to communicate a lot to Elsa. She looked somewhat ashamed.

"I'm sorry…I've been so nosy."

"No, it's…It's nice." Brann said, sincerely. "Talking about it a bit is…nice."

Elsa smiled a bit.

"I don't suppose you'd want to talk about your name, then?" She asked once again.

A minute passed in silence.

And Brann looked down.

"Sorry…"

Elsa didn't say anything. Then she sighed and nodded. "Brann still, then?"

Brann laughed. "I suppose so, yeah."

Behind his laugh, his mind was racing. Elsa now knew more about him than pretty much any other person in the world. Aside from those who hunted him.

What worried him more was how okay he was with it.

But who else deserved to know? Who else could even understand to a tiny degree what kind of lonliness powers like his could bring? No one else he'd met so far, that's for certain.

Instead of feeling more caution and anxiety, Brann instead felt determination. What honestly concerned him most right now was helping Elsa. He wanted her to be happy and free.

Whatever happened to him in the future, at least he'd know he'd helped someone as good as the Queen of Arendelle.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"So what exactly is your plan?" Kristoff asked the spastic ginger walking beside him.

"Tell Elsa to come home." She answered simply.

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's all? And you're certain that's gonna work?"

"Pretty certain, yeah!" She replied, defiantly.

Kristoff snorted once. "Seems to me like it'll take a bit more convincing than that. What if she thinks the mountain is her home now?"

"Oh, please. No one thinks a mountain is home."

Kristoff, a mountain man, felt a tad offended by this.

"She's the Queen of Arendelle! And I know she's a better person than to just abandon her people." Anna said, more to herself.

"Didn't seem to stop her from doing it..." Kristoff muttered to himself. If Anna heard him, she had ignored him.

"Oh, hey! Since she's a Queen and controls snow, does that make her a Snow Queen of Arendelle? Or like, an Arendellian Queen of Snow? Or does that not really play into it much?

Kristoff didn't know what to marvel at more, the talking snowman or it's ridiculous questions.

"Ooo, that's a cool name! I should tell her!" Anna said, obviously liking the snowman's quirky nature.

Sven snorted next to Kristoff.

"Yeah…I thought _we_ were an odd couple." He muttered.

They were still trudging through deep snow in the forest, which he had to admit looked quite beautiful. He had practically lived all his life in winter, so it was nothing amazingly new to him, but he could certainly still appreciate the sight of sunlight bouncing so magnificently off fresh snow.

It was during his little sightseeing reverie that he noticed several shadows fly by them.

"What th-?"

As soon as they had crossed Kristoff's field of vision, they disappeared again. He hadn't even been able to get a good look at them.

But a small feeling in his gut told him that those shadows weren't friendly. And he had learned to trust that little feeling. It had kept him alive during some hairy ice-harvesting ventures.

He looked back up at the mountaintop, where Anna's sister was waiting.

His expression turned anxious.

Hopefully, she would be the _only_ thing waiting…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note – I made this story M for a reason. I wanted to try something new, something interesting. Break out of my shell a bit. And I wanted to do it with no limitations. I apologize if my content offends a few of you now.**

**For those of you who don't mind, bear with me. It may be a bit in your face at first, but I'll try to even out my writing.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

Chapter 4

The first night after meeting Brann had been a bit awkward. Elsa had created her castle with the intention of remaining alone, so it only had one bedroom, and she didn't think it'd be very becoming of her to make him sleep outside on the mountain. Brann had been quite the gentleman, however, and offered to remain in the main hall. She had thanked him and provided a bedding mat for him (she was a bit apologetic, as it was made of ice and not quite comfortable, but Brann said he had slept on much worse).

This attitude of his surprised her. His raggedy appearance and shadowy nature directly contrasted his oddball and rather noble personality. He was certainly a strange man. He'd even refused to give his own _name_. A man who lived with such policies was not to be easily trusted, and so it was with a wary eye open that Elsa slept that night.

Yet the following morning brought no alarming situations. She had slept sound as ever, but felt a bit surprised upon awaking. She was unaccustomed to waking up anywhere that wasn't her room. It was a very liberating feeling as she sat up and looked around at the magical home around her that had replaced the claustrophobia-inducing walls of her room. The second thing that surprised her was the delicious smell coming from somewhere in her castle.

She walked down her staircase to find her hooded guest squatting beside a hearty fire that was burning atop the icy floor, almost like a floating wisp. It appeared that he was roasting something on a stick.

He apparently heard her, for he then turned around and smiled. His eyes were gleaming, but his face was as concealed as ever.

"Morning, your majesty." He said politely.

Elsa gave him a look, feeling another irk of guilt. "I am not a Queen anymore. Just Elsa is fine. You know that."

"Sorry. You still look like one a bit. It's hard not to."

Elsa shook her head, exasperated. "Please endeavor not to do so in the future. In anu case, what are you cooking?"

"Well, I'm usually a bit of an early bird, so I figured I'd help with some breakfast." He replied, holding up a stick. At the end of it was a very tasty looking cut of meat.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Where did you find that?'

"I hunted." Brann replied, smirking.

"I-of course you did, I know." Elsa said, a tad vehemently. "But where? We're on the peak of a mountain!"

"I went down." Brann said again, in a maddeningly casual tone. "Found a boar, put it down and skinned it."

Elsa couldn't help but feel a bit impressed. "You are a capable survivalist."

"Experience is the best teacher. Besides, what else were we going to eat? Snow-cones?"

"Ha ha." Elsa said sardonically. "I would have found a way."

"You can't magic yourself food, Elsa. I learned that a while ago."

Elsa decided to cease the little squabble. The reality was that Brann was spot-on. She had no means of survival In terms of food. It would seem he was helping her in more ways than one.

Brann walked over to her and tore off a piece of the boar. It looked luscious.

"For you."

Elsa hesitated a bit before she picked up the boar. She wasn't used to eating without tableware.

Brann however, seemed to have no such inhibitions, and promptly bit off a sizeable piece of meat, chewing it with a satisfied look.

Elsa felt more amused than appalled. "Apparently you have no experience with table manners."

"I do too!" Brann replied after swallowing. He gave her a mockingly offended look. "I am not uneducated in the ways of forks and butter knives. However…"

He gestured around at the room.

"I fail to see a table. So, I eat like this."

And he loudly ate another piece.

Elsa suppressed a laugh. "Flawless logic." She said, amused. Looking at her own piece, she smirked a bit. With a wave of her hand, a table appeared in front of her, complete with a plate, fork and spoon (all ice, of course).

Brann stopped mid-bite. "Wow. Well done!"

She put the piece of meat down, feeling a small rush of pride. "I suppose so, yes."

"Maybe the trick to controlling your gift is just using it to be snarky." Brann said, sitting down across from her. He took another enormous bite.

"What happened to eating well at the table?" Elsa said at once.

"What table?"

Brann said it with such innocence that for a moment Elsa actually believed he was just stupid. She then saw the amused glint in his eye, and realized he was simply messing with her.

"Well, fine. I'm not here to teach _you _maturity."

Brann grinned again, finishing off his piece.

Elsa cut off a few pieces and gingerly ate them, determined to show Brann how to eat (though it was more out of jest than true mettle). The meat was delicious.

"You called my abilities a 'gift'." Elsa said suddenly. It had just occurred to her that his wording of her powers wasn't in agreement with her own thoughts of them.

"Yes. What would you call them? Oh, yes…" Brann said, leaning back a bit. "A 'curse', you called it."

Elsa was silent, looking down a bit at the table.

"If it only brings me pain, how can it be called anything else?"

"It brought you this table. This castle."

"It's not enough to make fifteen years of loneliness and fear go away." Elsa said shortly.

Brann nodded somberly. "Of course not."

They ate in silence for a while longer.

"It…may be hard for you to believe this, and I certainly don't blame you, but I have some experience to what you're going through."

Elsa stared up at him sharply. Part of her wanted to bitingly reply that he knew _nothing_. But his tone had seemed honest enough. Besides, she didn't want to upset the only person she knew who could aid her.

"How so?" She asked instead.

Brann gave her a sad little smile. "I've been on my own for a while."

Elsa suddenly felt a tug of excitement. She had found a loose thread in the enigmatic ball of yarn before her. If she pulled just a bit…

"I see. How long would you say?"

"About seventeen years."

"S-what? _Seventeen years_? By yourself?" Elsa almost choked on her meat.

"Yeah. So, I guess that explains the hopeless social awareness." Brann replied. "Sorry again about that conversation down at the castle."

"It's fine, it's fine." Elsa said hurriedly, fixated on pulling that thread further.

"You must enjoy being on your own." She said, trying not to seem too goading.

Brann's face, however, fell into a sad state, and Elsa knew that thread had just been cut.

"Like I said before…we don't always do things by choice." He muttered.

A second of silence passed. Then Brann sat back and clapped his hands, shocking Elsa slightly.

"Well, let's just focus on you, shall we, highness? How are you feeling with the abilities?"

Elsa looked at her hands. With a small wave, she created a little snowflake sculpture.

Brann seemed impressed. "You can keep it under control when you're feeling normal, it seems. But what about Anna?"

It took a second for Elsa to process what Brann had said. Beneath the utter confusion of his blunt statement, she felt a subconscious swoop of guilt and fear. The snowflake crumbled and disappeared.

Brann nodded to himself. "It's when you're agitated that they become uncooperative…"

Elsa nodded somberly, ignoring her the indignation over Brann's trick. "So it would seem…"

Then she thought of something.

"How is it you always control yourself?" She asked her guest.

Brann gave her a humble smile. "Well, I can't always. You yourself know that."

"Well, yes, but you only burned me minimally. And even then you could simply heal it! What do you do to stay calm? To keep your powers under control?"

She could tell this question was making Brann uncomfortable. But her patience with his secrecy was running thin. If he didn't give her an adequate response, she would simply keep hounding him.

Then Brann sighed.

"I…when I can't keep control…I think of what life could be like. Or what it used to be, I guess."

Elsa contemplated his words. She could sense a tone of unhappiness in his voice, but decided not to press father.

"So…basically lie to myself?" She said with an air of sarcasm.

Brann was quiet for a minute. Then he gave her a firm look.

"You need to speak to your sister."

Of all the things he was going to say, Elsa for some reason expected that the least.

"No. I'm not ready yet…If I see her it'll only cause more problems. I need to stay here with you. You can teach me how to control it."

"Elsa, fire and ice are not the same. Just in the last day I've been able to tell that."

Elsa refused to believe her only hope, the last glimmering ray of promise in her cruelly fogged life, was now turning itself off.

"No. The hand exercises. We keep doing those. I will learn to control them. Anna does not need to be involved." She said resolutely.

Brann's face was anything but in agreement. "Elsa, it's not a matter of control. It's a matter of _emotion_. When I first arrived, I thought that maybe our powers were similar enough that I could help you control it the same way I did. But they're not."

He stood up from the table.

"Elsa, what you need is a friend."

Color slowly found itself to Elsa's face. "What does that-"

"Anna cares about you. She was completely fixated on finding you once you disappeared. I talked to her. And I know genuine concern when I see it." Brann continued. "She can help you more than I can."

Somewhere in Elsa's brain, Brann's words made sense. But the rest of it was screaming out, reminding her of that one night, the night that forever changed her life and had set a barrier between herself and Anna.

"No." Elsa said simply. "I will not hurt Anna again. I could not live with myself."

Brann stared at her solemnly. He sighed.

"Elsa…"

"Enough. Please." Elsa added, her tone being a little sharper than she intended. She knew that Brann meant no harm (quite the opposite, really), but bringing Anna into the picture was beginning to toll on her composure. She could already feel the ice beneath her crack and pop a bit as it whitened.

Brann seemed ready to say something, then relented. His eyes held a look of regret.

"Alright. We'll try the exercises again."

Elsa nodded in thanks, trying to regain a bit of dignity after her outburst. She couldn't let her emotions scare away Brann. He was the only hope for her powers now, however much he himself denied it.

As she held out her hands, however, there came a loud roar from beneath them.

Brann's eyes lit up at once (literally). "Was that the snowman?"

"I think so…"

Then she heard voices. Human voices.

Her panic skyrocketed.

"Wh-there are people here!" She exclaimed.

Brann moved past her quickly and out to the stairwell. As he looked over the railing, Elsa could see his body stiffen with shock.

"Shit…SHIT!" He muttered in a strained voice. Elsa felt her heart skip a beat at his language and tone.

"What?! What is it?" Elsa whispered.

Brann quickly ran back to her, his hands up over his head in agitation.

"I'm such an idiot, I'm such a goddamn _IDIOT!"_ He vehemently said to himself.

Elsa could have slapped him for lack of disclosure, but at that moment, she heard another loud roar from Marshmallow. Running to the railing, she saw him in ferocious state, swinging his arms at four black-clad intruders. They all had weapons drawn and were battling the snowy creation. She could hear their voices rise up to her.

"The hell _is_ this thing?!"

"Ice bitch must've made it!"

Elsa felt like someone had driven a spike into her heart.

"Whatever it is, take care of it! I'm going upstairs, we'll find them!" one of the men shouted to the others. He ran up the stairs, dodging another swing from the snowy guard.

Elsa didn't realize she could move as fast as she did then. Running back into her room, she saw Brann pull out a sword. Its blade was a gleaming orange and red.

"Stay behind me, no matter what." He instructed Elsa with a stony voice.

"Who are they?! What do they want?!" Elsa asked, horrified.

"They're Bankmen, they're evil sons of bitches, and they want to kill you and me. Now please, Elsa, get behind me."

She would have preferred it if he hadn't answered her question at all.

The weight of the words _kill you_ hit Elsa like a freight train. She could feel the world spinning beneath her.

"You…they…"

For sixteen years she had lived in fear of being persecuted for her powers. Sixteen years she waited for the day it would all come crumbling down, and the people around her would demand for her blood.

And now, sixteen years since that awful night, it was here. Someone was coming to kill her. Because of her powers.

The fear bottled within Elsa exploded outwards. Ice whitened. A flurry grew. She could vaguely hear Brann's voice screaming at her, but it was lost to the wind, both inside and outside her mind.

It was only when the doors were smashed open with a mace that Elsa came to her senses.

The man in black was standing before her. His hair was thick. He had green eyes. Three whites lines were patched into his sleeve. He had a slick, black beard that clawed the bottom of his face like some angry talon.

For some reason, every detail of the man stood out to her. She vaguely wondered why. Perhaps it was customary to focus attention on every aspect of the ones who is about to kill you.

And he certainly would have done so had a streak of orange not shot in front of Elsa as the mace came swinging down.

Elsa jumped backwards in shock as Brann grunted against the force of the intruder's blow. Even when blocking it with his sword, it had taken a toll, it seemed.

With a shout, Brann threw his weight against his attacker, knocking him back a bit. Brann brought his sword up in front of him, eyeing the man maliciously.

Elsa had no idea what to say or what to do. It felt like the ice in her body had finally taken control and frozen her solid.

"Never expected _two_ of you." The man in black muttered.

"Leave her out of this. You've been after me. This whole time it was _me_, right?! So do _not_ involve her in this! You hear me?!" Brann shouted back.

"Not how it works, boy. You know that." The man replied, spinning the mace menacingly. "I've seen what she can do. And it ain't natural. So we'll wash it clean."

"The hell you will!" Brann growled as he charged the man, swinging his sword with more precision and skill than Elsa had ever seen form someone. It was more of an orange blur than a blade. The man in black, however, was equally skilled. His mace was slow, but he was calculative in his fighting. He never missed a swing, never hesitated. His weapon always went where it needed to go, like it had a mind of it's own. As Brann drove a blow towards the side of the intruder, his mace redirected it's momentum from the previous strike in order to block the attack.

It continued like this for a while, or perhaps in no time at all. It was difficult to keep track of time when watching something so frightening. Elsa couldn't speak, couldn't even move. Hell, she could hardly _breathe_.

Then Brann deflected a blow from the mace, and with more malice than Elsa could have predicted, shot flames from his hand, directly into the man's face.

The man in black screamed, clutching his face as he ran from the two of them towards the stairwell. The air was contaminated with a stink more nauseating than Elsa ever knew, the smell of burnt flesh.

Brann's scarlet eyes seemed to glow beneath his hood. He huffed violently, out of breath.

Then three more men entered the room, armed with crossbows. Somewhere beneath them, Elsa could hear loud groans coming from her creation.

They pointed all three of them at Brann, eyeing him with ferocity and hatred. The man with the burnt face managed to turn around and look at Ignus through his fingers.

"No." He whispered in a tone Elsa would never associate with an angry man.

"Kill her first."

Many things happened at once.

Three crossbows clicked, their metal passengers leaving the wooden instrument with fatal speed. Air left Elsa's lungs and exited her mouth in a frightened exclamation. The man with the burnt face smiled just a tinge.

And the man beside Elsa shouted something, and moved towards her with more speed than she thought possible as a sound burst out into the palace like an explosion.

Then the very world in front of her burned, and Elsa's thoughts turned to nothing.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Hey Kristoff! Not sure if this is gonna fix the problem, but I found a staircase leading exactly where we need to go!"

"Ah! Great!"

Kristoff barely had time to register the odd news when Anna leapt from her awkward position on the mountain and into his shocked arms.

"Thanks! That was like a…crazy trust exercise!"

Kristoff couldn't help but smile in amazement a bit. This redhead was a unique person, to be sure, with her somewhat frightening strength and awkward and unsure nature.

Sure enough, Olaf's word was true. There was a beautifully made staircase leading straight towards the mountainside. Kristoff's jaw dropped. This stuff was absolutely _perfect_. The most flawless ice he had ever seen. It was breathtaking.

He would have likely stared at it for a lot longer had he not seen what lied at the top of it.

A castle…no, a _palace_ lay atop the mountainside, as perfectly made as the stairwell. It gleamed in the sunlight, sparkling like some sort of ice-farmer's Shangri-La.

Kristoff tried to swallow a sob. "Now _that's_ ice…"

Anna looked just as enraptured by the sight.

It may have stayed silent for quite some time had an explosion not rung out into the night.

Anna screamed as Kristoff flung up his arms to protect himself from the blinding light. He felt a rush of heat fly across his skin.

With what little vision he had, he saw the Upper part of the palace blow outwards, sending pieces of ice flying into the sky like shrapnel. The supports beneath it gave out, demolishing the lower-right side of the exquisite sight.

Kristoff's jaw hung open in shock. What had seconds before been a sight as majestic as and Kingdom castle was now a desolate ruin.

"Elsa!" Anna cried suddenly, whisking Kristoff out of his shock. She immediately ran across the steps.

"Whoa, whoa! Be careful!" Kristoff shouted, chasing after her.

Anna practically kicked down the doors to the castle. Upon entering it, she almost screamed again. There was an enormous snowman in the middle of the room, grunting angrily. He had large chunks of him cut off, and his legs looked like they had been sliced in two.

Kristoff hardly had time to register this alarming sight when another piece of ice fell from the ceiling, crashing about ten feet next to them. The floor cracked dangerously.

"Anna, we have to go! This place is falling apart!"

"Not without Elsa!" Anna shouted defiantly. And she turned and ran up the staircase behind the snowman.

"No, Anna don't-oh for fffffffffAAAAAAH." Kristoff grunted angrily as he chased after her again.

"Don't worry guys, I'll help Frosty here back up onto his feet!" Olaf called after them. He then began to pick up pieces of the snowman's "flesh" and return them to the main body.

Kristoff and Anna burst into the main room on the second floor. Anna gasped.

The explosion must have happened right here. The entire part of the palace in front of them had been blown away. What little ice remained was melting. The sunlight fell freely into the room, unhindered by any walls or ceilings.

Kristoff looked out over the edge. "What on earth happened…?"

Anna simply shook her head in utter bewilderment. Then she snapped her head around.

"Where's Elsa? Where is she?!" She exclaimed, panicking.

"Whoa, calm down, she's-"

"Oh my god she fell! Oh my god oh my god oh my god no! We gotta help her! C'mon help me get down there and-"

"ANNA. Your sister built a _castle_. I'm pretty sure she could prevent herself from falling with some sort of ice slide or something." He said, ignoring the uncertainty he himself felt.

Then they heard a groan next to them. Kristoff whirled around to find the source of the noise, only to almost retch in disgust. A man was sitting against the wall behind them, and from the look of it, the explosion had burnt his face to a disgusting extent.

Anna saw him as well, and actually _did _retch, putting a hand to her mouth. After that, however, she walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

The man stirred, looking at Anna and then at Kristoff. His eyes widened a bit, and Kristoff felt himself tense for a moment, but then the man's eyes softened.

"You are…Princess Anna?"

"I am, yes." Anna replied gently.

"I see…you are the Queen's sister?"

"Yes."

The man seemed to think carefully upon hearing that. The he spoke again.

"I'm sorry your majesty. Your sister is gone."

Anna's face froze in shock. "N-no. You…she couldn't have-"

"She's alive, your majesty. But she has been kidnapped." The man said quietly.

Anna's face reverted to relief and shock. "But…what?! By who?"

"By the man my men and I had been chasing. A wanted criminal, living on the run for many years. We tracked him to this palace, where he was attacking your sister. But when we attempted to intervene-"

He motioned out at the gaping hole.

"He did this."

"How?" Kristoff asked in disbelief.

"You discovered that your sister has…abilities, yes?" The man asked Anna. She nodded in understanding. "Well, this man…this _devil_…he wields the power of fire much like your sister does."

"What?!"

"Using his powers, he destroyed the palace in a massive explosion, and when the dust cleared, he and your sister were gone."

The man dipped his head. "I'm sorry your majesty. I wish I had done more."

Anna pursed her lips in worry. "Oh, Elsa…"

She then put a hand on the man's shoulder. "You did all you could. It wasn't your fault. But can you tell me what this man looks like?"

"It's hard to say, milady. He covers himself with a hood every day of the week to protect his identity. His eyes, however, are the bloodiest red you'll ever see, and are a dead giveaway."

"Wh-I met a man yesterday with red eyes!" Anna cried in shock.

"That must have been him." The man muttered.

Anna slapped her forehead angrily. "I _knew_ he was a strange guy! And I just let him go! Just like that!"

"Hey hey, whoa, that wasn't your fault either." Kristoff said quickly. "No hypocritical thinking, okay?"

He saw the redhead heave a sigh and nod. "Okay. Okay. We'll find this guy. And we'll save my sister!"

Kristoff smiled. "Now you're talking."

"C'mon, sir. Let's get you out of here." Anna said, helping the burnt man to his feet. "What's your name?"

"My name is Lionel, you majesty." The man replied.

"Well, Lionel, we're gonna put out the word. Every kingdom is going to be looking for this dirtbag. And he'll be out of business quicker than you can say…some…random word." She finished.

Lionel smiled. "Excellent."

His smile was not one of relief or determination. It was a smile laced with poison, with malcontent, trickery.

But to the sunny and trusting Anna, it was only ever a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It's not a common thing to fall unconscious. Many people go their whole lives without losing minutes of their life to blackness. And it was certainly even more rare for a monarch to experience such unpleasantness.

Then again, Elsa had quite a unique life.

The first thing she realized as blurred shapes re-appeared in front of her was that she was, in fact, once again conscious. And by a simple mathematical calculation, she realized that at some point she had been _un_conscious. This revelation surprised her, though perhaps not to the extent that it would have had her brain been at full capacity.

As time passed, the blurred shapes took form, and Elsa could see the shape of her own hands. At least she _thought _they were. They had soot all over them, like she had just finished chimney sweeping. Her skin was quite pale compared to most, making the soot give her the appearance of some biped zebra.

After a few more minutes, speech found it's way back into Elsa's brain.

"Uuuuuugh…"

It wasn't a very attractive sound, but at that moment, Elsa wasn't very interested in keeping a sharp tongue.

She looked around at her surroundings. It appeared that she was in some sort of cave. Not a large one, just a slight indentation in the side of a mountain.

Her thoughts finally snapped together.

She was in a cave. Not in her palace.

"Hello again."

Elsa would have jumped at the voice if she had the strength. Instead she turned to find the source. Next to her, sitting against the wall, was her enigmatic acquaintance. His hood was still over his head, much to her annoyance.

"Brann…"

He smiled, seemingly glad that the Queen hadn't sustained some sort of head trauma.

"How do you feel?"

Elsa performed a quick self-assessment. The results were that she felt like hell.

"I could be better." She managed.

"That makes two of us." Brann replied.

Elsa looked at him again. He too was covered in soot, from what she could see. He was slightly turned away from her.

"What…what on earth happened?" Elsa asked.

Brann looked at her for a few moments, and then heaved a sigh.

"I'm not sure."

"You don't know?"

"No. I've only done that once before in my life. It happened a long time ago."

Elsa looked around at the cave. "How did we get here?"

"I woke up on the mountain out there, alongside you." Brann replied, nodding towards outside the cave. "You were still unconscious, so I brought you in here. "

"But how did we _get_ here?" Elsa said again, with a bit more force.

"I did it." Brann said again in a weak voice. "The last thing I remember is how those men were about to shoot you."

Elsa had to swallow the lump of fear that she felt at the mention of those four men.

She had almost been murdered. _Murdered_.

Her stomach lurched, and she fought a desire to sob. Someone hated her enough to try and _kill_ her.

"Then what happened?" She finally said, trying to move on.

"I…tried to stop them. I ran towards you and…ow…tried to do something." Brann answered in a strained voice. Elsa noticed for the first time that what little of his face she could see was slightly contorted.

"I guess I did. There was an explosion, and the next thing I know, we're both on the mountainside here."

"How on earth is that possible? What actually _happened_?" Elsa's mind was taxed enough as it was.

Brann looked agitated, like he wasn't sure how to explain it. Or…actually, he just looked agitated.

"Elsa, I'm sorry, but before I explain anymore I have to ask you a favor. I wish I didn't have to, but…I need your help."

"With…what, exactly?"

Brann heaved another breath and turned to face her fully.

Elsa's lungs practically exploded outwards from the force of her gasp. There was a crossbow bolt embedded in Brann's left shoulder.

"Oh my….oh my _god_!"

She leapt to her feet at once. "Why didn't you _say_ anything?! You let me sit here and ask questions while there's an _arrow_ in you?!" She squeaked in panic.

Brann winced. "I figured I should at least answer a few of them, considering what happened."

Elsa ran over to his side and looked at the wound. It was bleeding, but not heavily. She felt her stomach lurch again. She had read every book the library held on human anatomy and medical treatment, but seeing an open, bleeding wound like this was breaking her nerves like glass.

"What…what do you want me to do?" She asked weakly.

"First, ice the wound a bit to numb it down. Then-"

"Wait, what?!" Elsa's voice cracked with shock. "You want me to _ice _it?!"

"No, not the entire thing. Just the wound. Chill it a bit to make it numb."

"Wh-no. I-I can't!"

"Why not? Look, I know it's not a pleasant thing to see, but-"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Because the last time I hit someone with ice it nearly killed her!" Elsa shouted at Brann with the pent-up angst that had been building since she gained consciousness.

His eyes snapped open at once. He looked down in an apologetic way.

"…I'm sorry. I-I didn't know."

Elsa suddenly felt appalled with herself. He had taken an _arrow _for her! What right did she have to deny him even the smallest amount of aid?

She knew the answer before the question was finished. She'd make it worse. In her eyes, that's all her powers _could_ do. Make things worse. It made Anna worse, it made her life worse, and now it could make a wounded man _dead_ for all she knew…

"I just…don't want to hurt you more." She managed to say, ashamed.

Brann looked at her eyes again, his own softening slightly. "I know you don't. But you can do this, Elsa. Just like we practiced. Think of something happy."

"Something happy…?"

Elsa found the concept nigh-impossible at the moment. She was confused, lost, and her only companion had an arrow inside him. Yet as she thought more and more, she remembered the rush of freedom she felt on the mountain as she created her sanctuary. She willed herself to recall that feeling of adventure and uncontrollable adrenaline.

She took a deep breath and stepped close to Brann. She laid a hand lightly around the arrow wound.

_Freedom. Sanctuary. Fearlessness._

And her hand glowed blue.

Brann stiffened against the wall.

"Are you alright?!" Elsa asked at once, panicking.

She withdrew her hand, and Brann exhaled a shaky breath. "It's perfect. The wound's number. That's all I could hope for."

He smiled again at her. "I told you so."

Elsa found his smile contagious, and smirked unsurely. But her smile faded as Brann's expression grew serious.

"This next part, however is…ouch…going to be…more unpleasant. For both of us." He warned.

Elsa braced herself.

"I need you to pull this out."

There was a palpable silence as Elsa analyzed the question approximately five hundred times.

"Pull it out." Elsa said slowly.

"Yeah."

"The bolt." Elsa said, pointing.

"Please."

Practically every inch of Elsa's brain was screaming protest to this idea.

"Listen I…I want to help, but…"

"I wouldn't ask you to do it if I could myself." Brann said again, his voice noticeably weaker. "But I've…lost quite a bit of blood and I…I just, uh…"

His voice slurred a bit as his eyes lost focus.

"Okay! Okay okay!" Elsa exclaimed, terrified of Brann's declining state. "Uh…what do I do?"

"P-put both hands on the bolt." Brann said, pointing at it with trembling hands.

Elsa complied. As she did so, she felt a drop of blood meet her hand. She averted her eyes, trying not to vomit.

"I'm going to count to three…and on 'three', you pull _straight out_ as hard as you can. Do _not _pull sideways, or you'll tear more skin." Brann managed to say.

Elsa felt sweat cling to her brow at the thought of what was about to conspire. Her stomach contracted.

"One…"

Elsa held her breath and grit her teeth.

"Two…"

She shut her eyes.

"_Three_!"

Elsa gave a small yelp and pulled the bolt towards her, but her hands slipped away from it as she fell backwards. Her ears filled with Brann's screams of pain.

"AAAAAGH! _Fuck_!" He shouted hoarsely. The bolt was still in his shoulder, bleeding even more now.

Elsa leapt back up. "Oh god, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Just do it again! And pull HARDER!" He shouted.

"Okay, alright, alright!" Elsa muttered in a panicky voice. She gripped the bolt again, making sure to not let go this time.

"Okay, one-" Elsa started.

"THREE!" Brann interrupted.

What happened next was nothing less than pure, reflexive instinct. At Brann's exclamation, Elsa pulled as hard as she could. With a sickening slicing noise, the bolt was ripped away from Brann's shoulder, a spurt of blood following it.

In a second, Brann's hand was over the open wound, and Elsa heard a hideous hissing noise come from it. His face was tight with pain. After a moment, he seemed to relax a tiny bit, and took his hand away form the wound. It was completely cauterized.

Elsa gasped again, realizing what he had done. "Oh, god, are you…are you okay?"

"I'm…in pain. But I'd be in a lot more or dead without your help." Brann replied in a tight voice. "Thank you, Elsa. I know that wasn't pleasant for you."

Elsa had no clue what to say. She felt like she had exhausted every molecule in her body.

"I'm so sorry I messed it up, I-"

"I asked you to pull an arrow out of me. I wasn't expecting a perfect performance." He replied, smirking a bit.

"I…ugh."

Brann leaned back, breathing a bit more steadily. "What?"

"I…sorry, it's just…that was the most insane thing I've ever done."

Brann laughed slightly at this. Then he winced and held his shoulder.

"Ow, okay, ow…not ready to laugh yet…"

Elsa hurried over to him and put her hand gently against the wound. She let the magic slowly come from her hand, numbing the wound further.

Brann sighed with relief. "Thank you."

Elsa smiled at him. Then her thoughts turned back to her questions.

"Brann, how did we get here?"

"Well…as you know, my powers are a bit…different than yours. I can't create castles and snowmen, or really anything useful-"

"Debatable." Elsa interrupted.

"-but one thing it's good at is keeping me out of trouble. One time, when I was younger, a group of Rivermen attacked me, and as they were about to kill me, this...explosion happened."

"Explosion?"

"I don't know how it works. But when I woke up, I was lying in an enormous crater about ten miles away. Apparently the alley we were confronted in was destroyed like a bomb had gone off inside it. It's…some sort of teleportation trick."

"Teleportation?" Elsa came very close to snorting at this.

"Is it really so hard to believe? I just wanted to be away from there, and my powers compensated. We appeared here, and inside a huge crater, I might add."

Elsa was still skeptical, but didn't argue further.

"Also, sorry…I think I might have destroyed your palace." He added sheepishly.

Elsa sighed in an assuring way. "I can make more. More importantly, where did this 'teleportation' trick of yours take us?"

Brann struggled to his feet. Elsa quickly helped him up. His face looked anxious.

"Well…it's hard to say. But if I had to guess…I'd say we're about ten miles north of Dezertis."

Elsa recognized the name. Dezertis was a kingdom she had read a lot about. It was a dry land, a desert kingdom.

And it was almost a thousand miles away from Arendelle.

A thousand miles away from Anna. From her home.

She ran to the cave's entrance and stared out at the sight before her.

The sky was opened out in front of her like a blue blanket. There were mountains beside the one she was currently in, towering over lightly-grased plains. She could see the desert in the distance, away from where they currently stood. The peaks of the mountains were capped with snow. She could see exotic animals down below.

There were most definitely not in Arendelle.

The weight of this news fell onto her shoulders. She felt a rush of panic as she realized she was away from the only home she ever knew. There was no familiarity to anything she saw out there. Nothing looked like home.

Then, as soon as the realization weighed down upon her, it lifted up into the sky, taking Elsa along with it. She was away from it. Away from the problems, the hiding, the _fear_. She was away from _everything_.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't hear the small movement beside her as Brann stepped up to her. She turned to look at him, and to her shock saw nothing but shame in his eyes, which were fixated on the ground.

"Queen Elsa…I'm so sorry. I've taken you from your home. I've ruined everything for you…please forgive me. I never meant for this to happen, and I-I can't use the teleporting thing on cue, I've tried for so many years…but I swear to you I will return you safe and sound to-"

"Don't." Elsa said quietly. Brann looked up at her, and his eyes fell into confusion at the happy look on her face. "You've done nothing wrong."

This obviously didn't compute in Brann's mind. "Elsa, I-I thought that…I mean, I-"

"Saved my life, selflessly aided me, and have now freed me from the prison that was my life." She continued, smiling more. "I should be _thanking_ you, Brann."

Brann looked at her like she was crazy. "You…you _wanted _this?"

"Perhaps not in the fashion in which it was done, but in a way…yes. I was so trapped in that room, Brann. Year after year I thought of what life was like outside, but never allowed myself to confirm my desires."

She looked out over the land and held out her arms. "But now…now it's all there. It's all just waiting for me to see."

"Elsa, I can take you home. You deserve shelter, food, a happy life-"

"And I seek one. Which is why I'll need your help in traveling back to Arendelle." She said resolutely.

Brann nodded at once. "Of course."

Elsa smiled just a bit then. "But there's no need to rush. I want to see everything there is to see between here and my home. No teleporting explosions necessary."

Brann chuckled nervously. "There's quite a lot to see."

"As long as it takes. I'm willing."

"Elsa, traveling on the road isn't easy. It make you sacrifice things, and it can be dangerous…It's not the romantic journey people make it out to be."

"It's the life you have led for seventeen years, yes?"

Brann started at this, but then nodded slowly.

Elsa smiled in a regal way. "Who better to aid me, then? Besides, I can't live life without experiencing hardship. I'm certain there will be harsh times, but…I want to see it. I want to see the world."

Brann seemed to contemplate this.

"You're sure?" He asked quietly.

Elsa thought hard.

She thought of all those pictures she saw of the kingdom Corona, and its astounding lanterns festival. She thought of the four walls she had come to call home in her castle. She thought of the life she thought she'd always live.

And now here was the only chance she'd ever have to choose her own path.

She closed her eyes. _Anna…please wait for me_.

"I'm sure." She said, smiling.

Brann stared at her for a while.

"Alright. I'll accompany you back to Arendelle. I'll show you everything there is to see on the way there. And I will keep you safe. I swear to you."

"No need to sound so formal." Elsa said, a playful smile curling up her lips.

"I did destroy your castle and single-handedly ruin your life. Seems like the least I could do."

Elsa's smile grew. "Alright then, Brann. For the crime of freeing me from the isolation I had known all my life, I sentance you to aid me as I explore the world around me and live my life."

Brann gave her a real smile then, and Elsa found a small warmth growing inside her. She didn't know if she was ready to admit it, but she was certain she had found a friend in Brann.

Then Brann spoke again.

"Ignus."

Elsa gave him a quizzical look, certain he must have sneezed or something. "Come again?"

"It's…it's my name. My real name. Ignus." He said with just a hint of shyness.

Elsa's eyes widened. She beamed at him in surprised happiness.

"Another fire name?"

Ignus laughed once. "Yeah, I guess it's not that different…"

"No, it is. It's very different." Elsa stated. "Thank you for telling me."

"Feels good to tell someone." Ignus replied with a relieved tone.

They stared at each other a moment longer, then Ignus looked away.

"Well, Elsa. We can't stay in a cave by ourselves all day, can we?"

Elsa found herself blushing at that a bit. "Certainly not."

"Then let's begin. Dezertis is ten miles that-a-way. It'll take a while to get there."

Elsa suddenly found herself not having to try so hard to recall the adrenaline she felt that night atop the mountain.

"But first…maybe we ought to find you some more…appropriate traveling clothes? While that is quite the exquisite garment, I don't think it'll feel very good while walking so much…"

Elsa gave Ignus a surprised look, and then realized her formal dress was not at all suitable for traveling.

"It's alright, we can find you a market once we arrive in town. It won't be too hard to-"

"That won't be necessary." Elsa assured him. With a wave of her hand, a blue, sparkling glow climbed from her feet to her head, and by the time it had faded, her clothes had changed once again. She was now wearing a simpler dress with an icy belt around the middle. The skirt was looser, but cut a bit higher on her legs. Her high heels became traveling boots, and a stylish top appeared over the dress, colored with blue, purple and white. She was now travel-ready.

Ignus' expression was quite humorous.

"That…was impressive."

Elsa felt a small tinge of pride at the compliment as they stepped out of the cave together.

As soon as they did, Elsa realized something, and the natural high that she was beginning to feel crashed to the ground.

"Ignus…" Elsa started. She wasn't sure if he'd be ready to answer this, but she needed to know. "Who were those men?"

At first, Ignus' face remained as stoic as ever. But then it cracked just a bit.

Elsa felt a small sense of hope. Perhaps she could find the man hiding beneath all that secrecy after all.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Princess Anna was late.

She was _very _late.

Perfect.

Hans walked around the courtyard of the castle, where many civilians and ambassadors alike waited in anxious states for the acting monarch to return. Many had felt a rush of hope in the last few minutes, as there was suddenly, and inexplicably, a rush of heat that had warmed through much of the snow and cold that had plagued the land for the last day.

Some guessed that the Queen had come to her senses, while others feared her death had brought about the change. One person who seemed to whole-heartedly believe this was the deplorable Duke of Weselton, whose paranoia and panic was annoying the other dignitaries as much as Hans, though perhaps not for the same reasons.

The Duke exercised practically no concealment of his distrust of the Queen, and his eagerness to be away with her. It made him foolish and weak, relying on his two bodyguards that followed him everywhere to create the intimidation that he himself could not.

In Hans' eyes, there was nothing more pathetic. A man was only as good as himself, not the men he surrounded himself with. And nothing could be gained by boasts and brags and headstrong recklessness. He had been taught this lesson all his life. The monarchy that reigned over the Southern Isles was not one that favored strength or wealth. It's most powerful weapon was cunning. Future kings were taught at young age that the world was full of fools and jesters. Those who could manipulate and control would be the ones to stand over everyone and anyone (this was most likely where the whole "invisible" thing originated from…). Strong kings could win wars. Stronger kings could end them before they began.

And so Hans avoided war with his own brothers in this fashion. His entire life, he had always known he'd never be King of the Southern Isles. No matter how lucky he got, there was simply no way he, as thirteenth in line, would be able to ascend to the throne. He couldn't simply kill the twelve of them, not only because of their own cunning, but because the death of twelve princes would raise considerable questions about the thirteenth.

So, yes. Hans could not become the King of the Southern Isles.

That didn't mean he couldn't become a King.

Years of searching had finally paid off. Arendelle had been the perfect target for a power-hungry Prince such as himself. Two eligible princesses, one of the most lucrative kingdoms in the world, it was like the heavens had finally seen fit to give him a break.

And so it surprised him all the more when he came to realize how _easy_ this would be. The Queen was an icy statue, to be certain. Hans had heard stories about her, and he knew as soon as he finally laid eyes on her that all the seduction techniques he practiced would not be enough to win the Queen's affection. While he was never one to walk away from a challenge, he knew a lost cause when he saw one.

The Princess, however, was another matter altogether. He had bumped into her that day on the docks as a precaution, in case the Queen proved impossible to court. Yet as he spent more time with the Princess, he knew she would be the one he'd utilize. He had known many naïve women in his time, but the Princess left them all in shame. The way she looked at his with such sincere adoration and trust, it made it extremely difficult to maintain a straight face instead of laugh out loud at her idiocy. In one day…_one day_…she had agreed to marry him. The thought of it brought a cruel smile to Hans' lips. All it would take was an exchange with the right man, and the Queen would be out of the picture, leaving himself to rule.

Everything was going too well, much too well. It mad him all the more cautious, however. There was never a riper time for failure than after a victory. The crown was not his yet, a fact he constantly reminded himself of.

Then the Queen's abilities appeared, and Hans began to wonder if there was, truly, a god that specifically wanted him to ascend to the throne. It was too perfect. She exiled herself out of fear, and now her childish sister had taken it upon herself to retrieve her. As if it wasn't enough, she had left him in charge. Incredible.

It was this giddy amazement that made it so easy for Hans to look anxious. Many around him assumed he was worried for the Princess' health, yet on the inside, he was ecstatic for the exact opposite. All he had to do was put on a slightly worried face, and his shaky adrenaline would play the rest of the part.

"Prince Hans?"

Hans stopped his pacing to answer the French Dignitary beside him.

"It has been a day. I know you are worried for your betrothed's health, but…should we not at least make some sort of contingency plan…?"

Hans waited just the right amount of time to give the dignitary a shaky sigh, complimented by a wipe of his face with his hand.

The dignitary put a hand on his shoulder. "I realize you do not want to hear this-"

"No…no you're right. I can't put myself before the kingdom. We must think of them first."

The dignitary nodded, a look of respect on his face.

Hook. Line. Sinker.

"It seems that the winter has faded somewhat…perhaps the Princess has succeeded in her mission?" Another dignitary offered.

"I hope with all my heart it is so." Hans said in a weary voice. The lies had become easier to speak with experience. "But in the meantime, we must do something. I will lead a team to the mountains to mount a rescue for the Princess."

"But…Prince Hans! Who will rule in your stead? We cannot have two sequential replacements!" The Frenchman objected.

"I will not be gone long. The kingdom will survive. We have many capable men here to keep it safe." He replied evenly, looking at the men around him. They all held themselves a bit straighter. Hans smiled. The fastest way to trust was flattery.

"Now, I will need men to-"

"Prince Hans! The Princess has returned!"

It took all the willpower Hans held to not curse out loud. He should have expected this. No plan went this smoothly…

Pulling himself together, he put on a look of surprised happiness and turned around to see the ginger bimbo herself ride into the main square, with two men following her. One of which was on a reindeer, and looked like he had been crossbred with a caveman and a troll. The other's face was burnt to a point even where even Hans himself had to struggle to keep a look of mild surprise on his face, rather than turning away in disgust.

Anna flung herself from her horse and ran over to him, a look of relief on her face. "Hans!" she crooned like a sick cow.

_Christ almighty…_

"Anna!" Hans gushed as he hugged her and spun her around. "What happened? You were gone so long, and the winter's fading…did you speak to your sister? Is she here?"

Anna's face told him everything before she said it.

"She's…it's terrible Hans. She was kidnapped!"

_Really? How terrible, indeed._

"That's…that's awful! By who? How?!"

"There's this criminal that crashed the party the other day! He was the one you saved from drowning!"

For once, Hans felt legitimate surprise. He had saved a criminal? Well…at least the man had returned the favor.

"Oh god…oh, god, Anna I'm so sorry, had I known-"

"It's not your fault! It's not in any way, shape or form your fault! How could you have known?" Anna said hurriedly. "The important thing right now is that we stop him."

She turned around. "Luckily, I have the dignitaries from all around the world here to help."

Without another word, she leapt up onto the fountain's edge.

"Everyone! Can I please have you attention?"

She then faltered as every eye turned to her.

"Oh, uh…um…thanks." She said in a small voice.

Hans snorted silently.

"Queen Elsa has been kidnapped!" She announced immaturely. As she said it, gasps arose from the crowd, and general muttering broke out. "The man responsible is a dangerous criminal that my associate Lionel here has chased dutifully for years! He attacked my sister, killed Lionel's men, and scarred him with the powers he wields."

"Powers?!"

"Yes. Much like my sister, as we saw, this man can control fire. He used it to destroy my sister's shelter and escape the mountainside. His current whereabouts are unknown. Which is why I ask for your help in alerting every kingdom and every citizen that this man is at large and is responsible for murder and kidnapping a Queen!"

Muttering broke out again. A voice arose.

"If we bring the Queen back, will the winter return?"

Anna seemed to choke on her words. Hans quietly applauded the man's question.

"She was just scared! And she is the rightful Queen of Arendelle! And she's my sister! I won't rest until she's safe and sound back where she belongs!"

This obviously didn't inspire confidence in everybody, but there was a majority of people supporting her call.

"Thank you. The man has no name and no face, but he has blood-red eyes, as easily seen as a stray onion in a ham and cheese sandwich. That'll be enough to find him."

Satisfied, Anna jumped down from the fountain and walked over to Hans. He noticed the blonde man-troll approach them.

"Nice speech." He said, grinning.

Anna smiled. "Thanks. Oh! Hans, this is Kristoff, the one who helped me up the mountain. Kristoff, this is my fiancé!" Anna squealed happily.

"Pleasure." Kristoff said in a slightly gruff voice. Hans almost laughed, sensing the jealousy in his voice. Someone had actually _fallen_ for the bitch. It all but confirmed Hans' suspicions of the man's troll-like appearance.

"Likewise. Thank you for keeping Anna safe." Hans said in a buttery voice.

The blonde flushed a bit. "I mean…you know, no problem. She does owe me a sled, however." He added, looking at her pointedly.

Anna smiled. "Right! I do. Let's talk in the castle."

The two of them walked past Hans and into Arendellian castle.

"I'll see you inside, Hans!" Anna called back.

Hans waved in response. He was now alone with the burnt man, who walked over and held out his hand.

"Lionel." He said in a gravelly voice.

"Prince Hans. Thank you for protecting Anna…and I'm sorry about your men."

"And my face?" The man asked in a deadpan voice.

"Er…well…"

"Ah, relax. There are worse things one could lose than looks." Lionel said, shrugging slightly. He then walked away from a slightly surprised Hans.

Then he stopped. Turning around, he looked Hans straight in the eye and raised an eyebrow. Then he laughed, shaking his head as he walked to the castle.

And Hans felt his world come to a crashing halt.

There was a message in that look. A very clear, deliberate message that Hans could understand without any shadow of doubt.

_Nice act._

This man was dangerous. He wasn't like the others in the kingdom. He was as intelligent and shrewd as Hans himself. He saw through him like glass, like a fellow actor critiquing his performance.

Hans shuddered. He would have to keep an eye on this Lionel.

It seemed that the kink in his plan that he always knew was coming had finally reared it's ugly, burnt face.

**A/N – Ignus' trick will be explained. It is not simply dropped in to forward the plot.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note - This story is independent from Singed. There is no correlation in terms of universe or chronology. It is not to be treated as a prequel of any sort.**

**On that clarifying note, enjoy the chapter.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

Chapter 6

"You look like you're desecrating some sort of ritual." Anna teased.

Kristoff's eyes were practically bulging out of his skull as he walked through the castle of Arendelle beside her. Some new amazing sight that caught his eye slowed every step he took.

Anna didn't know all that much about him, but she was pretty sure this was the ritziest place he'd ever been to in his life.

Well…aside from the icy palace. But not much was left of that…

"It's…wow. I sort of am." Kristoff responded, now gazing at the lush tapestries.

"Tapestr-what is the point of tapestries?" He said, waving his arms in exasperation. "Are they only there to remind you that you're in an extremely formal place?"

"Oh, relax. You're not doing any harm."

Kristoff grumbled a bit. "I live on a mountain. I belong here like a laugh belongs at a funeral."

Anna resisted chuckling at the dark joke.

"Well, there are worse places to stay while you wait for some reimbursement, right?" She asked brightly.

She had invited Kristoff to remain at the castle while she arranged for his replacement sled to be delivered. It had seemed only fair. He had taken her to find her sister, helped her fight off wolves, and generally been a decent fella. Sven was also quite adorable.

And truth be told…she felt like she could use a friend right now. And she didn't want to bother Hans with _everything_…she knew he'd always want to help, but he deserved better than to hear her sob stories every time they met. Kristoff was someone who seemed wiling to listen to her problems. Thinking about it like that, however, made Anna realize it was a bit rude of her to use him like that. She hoped he didn't see it like that…

As they wandered through the castle, a familiar sight made Anna stop in her tracks. It was Elsa's door.

Anna felt a rush of fear. It had happened again. Every single time she thought or was reminded of her sister now, all she could think about was how she was missing…held captive by some jerk who figured kidnapping a Queen was the next big thing. The sense of helplessness that had spawned the moment Elsa fled the castle had grown into a little lump of sadness that Anna could feel pound on her gut every time she thought of her long-lost sis. The sister of hers who had always been on the other side of that door.

Without really thinking about it, Anna walked up to the door and turned the handle. The door opened effortlessly, almost taunting her with the knowledge that it didn't make a difference.

This was what Elsa saw for all those years. This one room…it looked so ordinary, now that she was seeing it for the first time in years. She had always assumed there was some sort of whimsical playground in here, something that Elsa spent her time having fun with. But as she looked at the simple room, she realized the only thing Elsa must have been able to do was look outside at the world through her window.

The pain in her heart tripled. If only she had known…if only Elsa had _told_ her. Some part of her felt betrayed that she didn't, but Anna knew the reason now. People would react the way they all did, screaming and whatnot. How could Elsa _not_ have been afraid of the results?

Still…maybe things would have been different if Elsa had anyway. Just her. It could have been their secret. Anna knew she would have never spoken of the powers, nor allowed anyone to persecute her for it. Did Elsa simply not trust her enough? To be fair, she _had_ not spoken with her properly for years. They practically knew nothing about each other now. But Elsa was still her sister, and always would be.

The regret and longing weighed heavily in Anna's heart, leaving a lump in her throat as she stared around the empty room. There was so much she wanted to ask Elsa, so much she wanted to assure her of…and now she was god-knows-where, with some psychopathic arsonist.

"You okay?" Came a gruff voice behind her. Anna realized with a start that Kristoff was still in the room behind her, looking a bit concerned at Anna's silence.

"Wh-yeah! Yeah, I'm…I'm fine." Anna hurriedly said, trying to choke down the sadness in her voice.

Kristoff did not look fooled. However, he didn't press further, looking a bit awkward. Instead, he looked around at the room.

"Nice room."

"Oh, it's not mine. It's uh…it's my sister's."

"Oh, well-Oh. Oh…" Kristoff said, realizing the source of Anna's funk. "Sorry, I wasn't really thinking."

Anna smiled and gave him a little nod, signifying 'no harm done'.

Kristoff shuffled his feet a bit, looking a bit unsure. Then he exhaled in a confident way and gave Anna a quick pat on the shoulder.

"We'll find her. All the kingdoms'll know about what that guy did just as soon as the ice thaws out enough for the dignitees to leave."

Anna repressed a giggle. "It's 'dignitaries'."

"Ah…r-right. I knew that."

Anna felt another welcoming laugh. Kristoff's lovable oafishness was one of the reasons she wanted to spend a bit more time with him. He was just as awkward as she could be sometimes, and laughter had never been more welcome in her life.

"C'mon." She said rousingly. "I'll show you to your room."

"I get a room?!"

"Wh-of course you do! What'd you think we would do, make you sleep in the stables?"

"…"

"…You don't…_want _to sleep in the stables, right?"

"…"

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Anna walked out towards the courtyard munching on a carrot, fresh from Sven's supply (though thankfully not bitten by him.) She had never really eaten them that much in the past, but the way Kristoff and Sven ate them made it seem fun. And she was finding it just so.

Rounding a corner, she chomped down on the carrot again right as she walked right up to her fiancé.

Hans looked up, smiling. "Hello, Anna."

The chewed-up carrot couldn't have flown from her mouth faster, though it mercifully directed itself away from the side-burned onlooker.

"H-Hans! Hi, wh-uuhhh…Hi! Sorry about that, I uh…found a carrot…y'know wanted to eat it but not quite that grossly-"

Hans simply smiled at her, managing to look just as dreamy as ever.

"You look very cute when you spit out food."

Anna's face matched the color of her hair.

"R-right…um, how is the thawing coming? With the fjord, I mean?"

Hans looked out towards the ocean. "Well, it's definitely thawing. The summer heat and sun has returned, so it's only a matter of time before all this snow and ice melts. Should only be a few more days, in fact. Then the ambassadors can return and we can get to finding your sister."

Anna nodded, but her insides twisted. How much could be done to her sister in a day? The fact that she had to suffer through more than one of them was unbearable.

"Is there nothing else we can do…? Have we thought of everything?" Anna asked herself.

"We're doing our best. And your sister is certainly capable of handling herself…she has both your spunk and ice powers." He grinned. "Not sure which is more powerful."

Another sweep of affection rushed through Anna, but it wasn't quite enough to extinguish her worry.

"Thanks…I just wish I could do _something_, even if it's just finding out more about-"

She gasped in realization. How could she not have thought of this?!

"Lionel! Of course! He's been hunting this guy for years, he must know loads about him!" She exclaimed in excitement. "I'm gonna go talk to him!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute." Hans interrupted, holding out a blocking arm.

Anna started a bit. She had never heard that tone before from Hans. There was so much distrust in it.

"Listen, I know he tried to save your sister, but something about the man…is a bit strange to me. I don't know if I completely trust him."

"Why not?" Anna asked. She probably wouldn't have listened if anyone else said this, but this was _Hans_ after all…

He exhaled uncertainly. "He's…he seems to have been through a lot. More so, he looks dangerous. Now I know it was to hunt down a criminal, but the eyes that man has…they're not ones that I would so easily find comfort in. They've seen things. And sometimes those things can change a man for the worse. I'm not sure you should talk to him that much…"

Anna listened carefully. Hans' words made sense to her a bit. She knew nothing about Lionel, and he certainly was intimidating.

But she also knew she couldn't sit around and do nothing.

"I'll be fine." She assured him. "I have that spunk, remember?"

Hans exhaled softly. "I know…just be cautious."

He then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

Anna could have sworn she felt her heart explode.

"U-uh…thanks. Yeah, careful. I do. I mean I will! I will."

She decided to quickly walk away before she could humiliate herself any more in front him (as well as to work off the amount of blood that was pumping through her body from her insane heartbeat). Walking quickly towards the castle, she tried to hide her burning face from onlookers.

After leaping her way up the stairs, Anna found the hospital wing, where Lionel had been admitted to treat his burns. Upon entering, Anna found that there was no one in the hall, save for the one solitary figure sitting at the end of the room.

Lionel was sitting in the hospital bed, a pencil in his hand, scratching against a small book he had. His face was heavily bandaged on one side, where he had been burned. They went across his nose and over his head, covering one eye. The rest of his face, however, remained unscathed. His black beard was untouched as well, still clinging to his chin like a claw.

Upon noticing his company, Lionel closed the book and tucked it away in his shirt. He turned to look at the Princess, nodding in respect.

"Princess."

"Oh, uh, just Anna is fine." Anna said quickly, never having been one to stand on formality. "How are you feeling?"

Lionel scratched at his bandages. "I've been worse."

Anna resisted reminding the man that his _face_ had been burnt off, and suffering anything worse than that merited serious alarm.

"Is there something I can do for you?" He asked briskly. It wasn't a rude tone, but it Lionel seemed like he was a man who got straight to business.

"Yes, please. I can't help my sister yet…not until the ice melts and we get more people to know about this man. In the meantime I wanted to ask you about him. Anything at all, his name, weaknesses, habits, whatever."

Lionel gave her a dry look. "Feeling a bit helpless?"

Anna felt a jump of shock. She contemplated feeling offended, but Lionel did not seem like a man who cared about offending others. Besides, he was right.

"Y-yes. I just want to do something, or…or at least _feel_ like I'm doing something."

Lionel regarded her with hard eyes.

"Very well."

He sat up a bit straighter in his bed, gesturing for Anna to sit in the chair beside it. She did so. Lionel then wiped his eyes and exhaled, like he was thinking of where to start.

"The man I've been chasing doesn't have a name. I guess I should tell you that first."

"How?"

"Hush." Lionel said firmly. Anna fell silent.

"He was born in a town to a couple of farmers out in the western part of the world. That's the most we can find out, anyway. This man is as reclusive a person as you'll ever meet. He never speaks his name, never leaves a trace of when he was there, and always hides himself beneath a hood. The only things we can ever trace back to him are those eyes of his."

Anna felt another twitch of repulse, which she quickly shook off.

"We don't know if they're linked to his fire, or just some biological mishap, but his eyes glow the most sinister red you'll ever see. No matter how he hides himself, his eyes always give him away."

Anna breathed in half-wonder half-fright. "How have we never heard of him until now? I mean…what exactly did he do?"

"He burned down a village, killing everyone in it."

Perhaps it was the bluntness of the statement that caught Anna by surprise so much. The delivery of such awful facts was, in her mind, always to be accompanied by some sort of warning, in the form of a cautionary tone or a spoken warning. But Lionel just said it, straight and true.

"Wh-he…he WHAT?!"

"At least, that's what we believe. A town out west was burned to the ground in the middle of winter, with little to no explanation of how it started, save for the one survivor…"

Anna gulped. "The red-eyed man?"

Lionel nodded gravely.

Anna felt a swoop of sickness. "He destroyed an entire town…?"

"We have no real proof. But the fact is that over five hundred people burned to death that night." Lionel answered quietly. His tone seemed to agree with Anna's question whole-heartedly.

"I can tell you this, Princess Anna. He is the most dangerous man I have ever met. He wields his sword like a master, yet attacks with the aggression of a barbarian. He moves swiftly and silently, using every movement of every muscle to his advantage. The flames he uses could burn through ten kingdoms. His senses have been honed to pick up any sound, any sign that harm is coming his way. He is the closest thing to a hellspawn walking this Earth, if he isn't actually one."

Lionel grimaced. "Making him a tough bastard to kill."

Anna felt another squelch at the remark. In all honesty, she should be pissed at this man, this _lunatic_ who had stolen her sister away, but all she felt right now was fear. Fear of the power this man apparently had, and how such a power could harm Elsa.

Yet she wasn't sure she wished to _kill_ the man…she simply couldn't muster the hatred. At least not yet.

"What do we do?" Anna asked in a small voice. "What the hell can we _do_? You make him sound like some sort of immortal creature! How do we save my sister from a man like _that_?!"

Lionel looked at her, and then gave her the smallest flick of a smile. It was laced with malintent and trickery.

"Actually, Princess, I think your sister is exactly what we'll use to take him down."

For the first time, Hans' words of caution earned merit in Anna's mind.

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Walking seemed so much easier when other people did it.

It was an odd thought, surely, but Elsa felt it completely justified as she felt what were surely the beginnings of blisters form at the bottom of her feet. No matter how comfortable she made the shoes, she was simply unaccustomed to this amount of cardio.

Ignus, on the other hand, couldn't have looked more comfortable. His feet moved so expertly and fluidly that Elsa would have believed he was _floating_. How did he make it look so damn easy?

Luckily, she had her thoughts to distract her from the pain.

Ignus had explained to her the origins of the men who attacked him in the castle, saying that they were from a cult called "The River".

"Why the 'River'?" she had asked.

"You know how a stone never gathers moss or algae in a rushing river?" Seeing Elsa's nod, Ignus continued.

"Well, the River believes that the human race are all rocks, if you catch my drift. And powers like yours and mine, and magic in general, are the algae that clings to it."

Elsa felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. "Why do they harbor such feelings towards magic?"

"Magic stretches back a long time, Elsa. Not just in you and I. Sorcery, alchemy…I've spent a long time delving into the history of everything unnatural. And wherever there's been magic, there's been the River trying to wash it away." He said with a dark look.

Elsa had not known how to respond.

"There'll always be people afraid of what they don't understand, Elsa. And no one understands magic."

Elsa inwardly agreed with the view, having never really understood of her powers herself, but the confirmation that magical bias did indeed exist in the world was all-too-confirming of her worst fears.

She had shuddered a bit, and apparently Ignus had noticed.

"They won't find us now." He said sternly. "I may not have intentionally brought us here, but they most certainly are unaware of our location. As long as we stay calm and keep our heads down, we're as good as invisible. Okay?"

Elsa had met his eyes, feeling a bit comforted by his confidant words. "Alright."

She wished she could muster the same confidence. But even amongst the fear that crept through her heart, the unquenchable thirst for discovery that had formed burned brightly.

And so it was with a small spring in her step that Elsa now caught up to Ignus and walked beside him.

He noticed, turning his hooded face towards her. He smirked a bit.

"Feet hurting yet?"

_Damn…how did he know?!_

"No." Elsa denied it nonetheless.

Ignus raised an eyebrow, smiling a bit more. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. You need to get used to it as much as everything else. And your childhood didn't seem to allow a lot of room for exercise."

"Still…it's a bit embarrassing." Elsa admitted. "And…ow…not to mention painful."

"Another hour and we'll arrive. Though you may want to start covering up your neck. It's gonna get hot."

Elsa didn't need to ask why. The landscape had slowly become more barren as they continued walking towards Dezertis. The plains slowly dried into cracked badlands and sandy deserts. Clouds slowly abandoned the sky, allowing the sun to unleash it's full wrath.

Ignus stopped and waved his hands. His clothes burned brightly, extending into long, loose clothing that covered his body. He now looked more like a vagabond than ever, complete with a black shawl around his hood. He gestured for Elsa to do the same.

"You don't want to burn in this sun, 'specially with skin as white as yours."

The embarrassed blush Elsa felt did not help to disprove his statement. With an annoyed look, Elsa copied Ignus' movements, and a blue shawl grew over her head, shielding her arms and neck from the harmful rays.

Ignus raised an eyebrow.

"It stands out a bit."

Elsa huffed. "I shoot ice. I'm a bit used to being different."

"Yeah, but you don't want that where we're going…" Ignus said, trailing off into thought.

Then he smiled just a bit. With a sudden movement, smoke burst from his hands and covered Elsa.

"Wh-ack-what the hell are you doing?!" Elsa shouted, the taste of the smoke rank in her mouth.

She managed to hack her way out of the black fog, tumbling next to a very amused-looking Ignus. She could feel the soot on her face.

"You can't walk into Dezertis looking like a Queen, Elsa. This should help."

Looking down, Elsa noticed that her sparkling clothes were now covered in soot, like she had just finished sweeping a chimney.

She shot Ignus an outraged look. He held his hands up in defense, but the amused smile lingered on his face.

Narrowing her eyes, Elsa pursed her lips and continued walking.

"You seemed so _mature_ when I met you."

"No point being mature if you can't be immature now and again." Ignus said, in a voice Elsa didn't want to admit sounded wise.

They walked a good distance further through the sand and sun, until they walked over a small bluff. As Elsa looked ahead, she saw a magnificent sight.

Like some sort of mountain, an enormous Kingdom lay before her, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Brick and mortar houses surrounded and spiraled upward around the hill in the center of the Kingdom. There were so many she couldn't even try counting. There were three aqueducts towering above the houses, and atop the hill, in the center of the kingdom, lay a castle more majestic then even her own. It was enormous, to begin with, and it had four spires stretching towards the heavens. Surrounding the city was a large wall, every bit as well crafted as the rest of it.

Elsa was speechless.

"You were expecting something a little less grand?" Ignus asked shrewdly, seeing her expression.

Elsa exhaled in amazement. "I…yes. I was."

Ignus nodded, giving her his signature small smile. "The founders of Dezertis wanted it to stand out from the desert, a beacon for those lost in the harsh heat. They based the architecture off of-"

"Italian designs." Elsa finished for him. And they certainly delivered the desired effect. Dezertis seemed like an Oasis made for the gods.

Ignus gave her an impressed look.

"I didn't know you'd been to Italy."

"I haven't. I read about it." Elsa said simply.

The red eyes gleamed in amusement. "Something tells me this may happen a lot. You reminding me how knowledgeable you are."

Once again, Elsa fought to keep her face straight. "It certainly feels good."

Smirking, Ignus gestured that they continue towards the kingdom.

"Have you been to Italy?" Elsa asked Ignus as they walked.

"I have." Ignus replied.

"And…?"

"It's quite a country. Lots of history, astounding buildings. Too many pigeons, though." Ignus replied wryly.

"Really? Pigeons chased you out of Italy?" Elsa said with a bit of mockery in her voice.

She felt an immediate pang of regret as Ignus' face darkened.

"Uh…no. It wasn't the pigeons that chased me out…"

Elsa didn't need further clarification. Obviously Ignus' history with this "River" organization was a long one. And certainly not one he wished to discuss, as evidenced by his next sentence.

"Anyways, let's focus on getting inside the city."

Elsa gave him a confused look. "You make it sound like that'll be a problem."

"It is. Dezertis is a highly populated area in the middle of a desolate wasteland. It's where every caravan and every trader goes to restock and resupply. After a while security got really tight in the city. Smugglers had started to take advantage of the city's location, you see, trafficking everything from food to weaponry. Now you need a passport to enter the city, and they're tricky to get hands on. Even those who own one have to wait in lines for hours."

Elsa frowned. "I see. How do we get one, then?"

Ignus reached into his pocket and pulled out a little black booklet. "I already have one."

Elsa blinked in surprise. "Well…great! So we can just go in?"

"Nah. We're still taking the scenic route."

"W-but why?"

"I hate lines." Ignus replied.

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Approaching the city would surely have been much less anxiety-inducing had Elsa not known they were about to attempt something illegal.

The wall of the city stretched high over their heads, easily two-hundred feet in height. Beside them, outside of a very impressive looking gate, Elsa could see the line of immigrants seeking entrance to the city. While the line was quite long, Elsa did not feel that it was enough to justify the course of action they were about to undertake.

"Let me get this straight, we are _illegally_ breaking into a city whose security _you've_ _admitted_ is extremely tight just so we can avoid waiting in a _line?!_"

"There is also the small fact that _you_ do not possess a passport, Elsa. As well as the fact that you standing in line with a ton of people might not exactly be the best thing for your cover."

He nodded towards her hands. Looking down she realized with a start that they had begun to emit frost from her outburst.

She inwardly cursed. Waving her hands, she created two gloves, which she then put over her hands.

Ignus seemed stoic.

"Gloves help at all?"

"Somewhat." Elsa responded. It was true. The gloves _did_ help, but they'd never help as much as she needed them to.

"Interesting." Ignus said, holding up his own hands, which had gloves over them as well. He flashed her an understanding smile.

Elsa started a bit. "You wear those for the same reason?"

"Always helps to have a little backup." Ignus said in his usual light-yet-oddly-sage tone.

Approaching the wall, Elsa looked around. There were walkways about halfway up, and she could see guards patrolling. There was no obvious sign of entry anywhere she could see.

"Ignus should we really be standing out here in the middle of th-"

Her question was muffled by Ignus' quick pull of her hand. They ran right up to the wall and slammed against it. Ignus looked up quickly, scanning the side of the wall.

Elsa managed to catch her breath. "Could you _please_ explain to me what's happening?!" She almost shouted at her assaulter.

Ignus had the decency to look embarrassed. "Sorry. Had to make sure they didn't spot us. We're using a passageway I found a while back. It's an old smuggler's tunnel."

Elsa blinked.

"We're…using…a _smuggler's tunnel_…in a city where security is specifically designed to _stop _smugglers?!" Elsa said in a patronizing voice.

"You seem to enjoy accenting words when you mock me."

"I'm starting to question my decision to have you guide me back." Elsa said, flopping her arms in exasperation.

"I didn't realize I was under regal order, your majesty." Ignus replied in his amused voice.

Elsa huffed. That quiet, lightly humorous tone Ignus was so good at was beginning to fray her nerves.

"How do we get in, then?" Elsa asked, finally surrendering to the madness of this plan.

Ignus turned to the wall, scanning it like a machine. He seemed to be counting.

After a noticeable pause, Ignus put his hand out onto a brick and pushed it. To Elsa's surprise, a large number of other bricks moved backwards with it, like they were attached. Ignus slowly moved forward, pushing the collection of bricks backwards, until Elsa saw a small trapdoor beneath his feet.

Ignus clapped his hands. "After you, highness."

Elsa gave him a look. "Enough of the 'highness'."

"After you, majesty."

"Ignus!"

"After you, frosty."

"Oh, for _god's_ sake…"

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The smuggler's tunnel was as charming as it sounded. Dust and spiderwebs clung to the dirty walls like blankets on a cold child.

The only light in the cramped tunnel was from Ignus' hand, which was on fire. This little fact would surely send most people into a panic, but Elsa knew Ignus wouldn't be hurt by the flames. It was like he had a torch for a hand.

"So! Are you feeling amazed by the journey yet?" Ignus asked.

"You've shown me a desert and a musty old tunnel. What do you think?" Elsa responded dryly.

"What about the city? That seemed like a pretty good sight, if I do say so myself."

"I'm forgetting it more and more the longer I stay in this tunnel." Elsa grumbled, trying to keep herself from bumbling into the walls and further dirtying her clothes.

"Ah, don't worry. Not far now."

They walked on in silence for a moment.

"Listen, Elsa…I have a favor."

Elsa looked at the back of Ignus' head. "What is it?"

"When we're in Dezertis, call me Brann again."

Elsa blinked.

"Why?"

"I want to keep us anonymous."

"Uh…alright. But…speaking your name would get us caught?"

"Please, Elsa." Ignus said suddenly, coming to a stop. He didn't turn around.

Elsa was once again reminded of how little she knew about Ignus. And of how little she should actually be trusting him.

But he was her only friend right now. If he was even that.

"Fine." Elsa breathed. "I will not speak your name, Brann. Even without a reason."

Ignus nodded. "Thank you."

They continued walking.

Elsa's thoughts were in a blur. Questions kept flying around in her head. How infamous was Ignus? Was his name so well known that even uttering it would get them caught by the River? How big was this operation? There was obviously more to his story, but how did his name come into it? Why can't I breathe?

Amidst the confusion, Elsa managed to focus on that last one.

Why…can't…I…breathe?

The arm, most likely. It was very hard for a human being to retrieve oxygen as an arm was wrapped around their neck, crushing their windpipe. Or maybe it was the sudden, horrifying terror she felt that denied her lungs their precious fuel.

The perpetrator made no sound, preferring to let his words speak through action. Elsa finally managed to let out a choking sound. Looking up, she saw something that only served to increase her terror.

Ignus' eyes were glowing red, fire building in the pupils like a terrible explosion. His expression held no humor, no amusement. His face was a mask of fury, carved with hatred. And it was all directed in Elsa's direction, though she was pretty sure it was directed towards the one attacking her.

"I will say this once. Release her."

The tone held more threat than any verbal description could relay. It was as if Ignus was speaking fire.

The attacker's arms weakened slightly. Elsa could sense his doubt.

Ignus' hands were now blazing with ruthless fire, licking at his shoulders, begging to blacken flesh. Elsa was losing her faith in Ignus' ability to distinguish between herself and the assaulter.

The arms tightened a bit. The stranger seemed to be sending a message.

"You could do that." Ignus replied to the unspoken message. "Just as I could melt every inch of skin from your bones. I vote we avoid those options."

The arms faltered.

Then a new voice appeared.

"Wouldn't be the first time you burned me."

And Ignus' mask collapsed.

The ferocity warped into shock. The fire went out.

"What are you doing here?"

"You first, Spit. Tell me-GAH!"

Elsa barely had time to register the odd nickname before she was thrown forward. Ignus managed to catch her before she lost her balance. Holding her up, he looked at her with extreme concern.

"You alright?"

Elsa was a bit taken aback by this display of care. Her cheeks showed it.

"Y-yes. I'm alright."

Ignus nodded gruffly, returning to his stoic self. He then turned to look over Elsa's shoulder. Elsa followed his eyes.

She found herself looking at a figure clad in black leather clothing, with several pouches hung from the waist. A shawl similar to the one Ignus was wearing was draped around the figure's shoulders, and there was a dagger strapped to it's wrist, traveling up it's arm. A strange black mask covered it's face, and on it's back was a large and very out of place war axe.

The hands of the figure were covered in ice. Elsa realized that she must have done that in her panic.

"What the fuck did she _do _to me?!"

"Nothing you didn't deserve." Ignus snarled in Elsa's defense. "Why did you follow me?"

The figure seemed to snort.

"Don't flatter yourself, asshole. I'm here on my own terms."

"I see. Was strangling her one of those terms?"

The figure looked coldly from Elsa to Ignus. "I thought she was one of those River scum."

Elsa felt a rush of indignation. "I'm not!"

"Shut up. Now." The figure spat at her. "Why are you here?" It said to Ignus.

"I'm here on my own terms." Ignus said in a scathing tone.

The figure stiffened. "Oh, clever, real clever. I should've snapped her neck when I had the chance."

Elsa's confusion and anger spiked into an exclamation. "Who _are _you?!"

The figure almost seemed to be trying to kill her with it's mind. Then a hand slowly rose towards the mask and pulled it away.

Elsa was staring intot he face of a rather attractive woman with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Suffice to say, her brain was quite overloaded.

"Wh-you're a…what?!"

Ignus sighed heavily.

"Elsa, this is Aren. First lieutenant of the Black Arrows, expert blacksmith, the best axe-wielder in the world…and an old friend of mine."

Aren seemed to bristle at this. "That no longer applies, Spit."

Elsa already had quite a lot of questions, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Okay, _why_ is she calling you-"

"Get this fucking ice off me!" Aren shouted suddenly, interrupting them. "How the fuck did she even do this?!"

"Good to see your mouth hasn't gotten any cleaner." Ignus said in a deadpan voice.

"Fuck you!"

"Charming. Now come on. We can talk inside the city."

Ignus put a hand on Elsa's shoulders and directed her down the tunnel, ignoring Aren's objections.

Once again, Elsa was forced to withhold her questions. Sometime soon, the sheer amount of them would break her brain in half.

And the daggers being sent at her from the livid woman behind her weren't helping…


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note – Okay, so let me explain something real quick.**

**My Computer: Hey, Stanford! How's the writing coming along?**

**Me: Pretty good actually. Had a good time with this chapter.**

**MC: Well, we can't have that can we?! CHAPTER GONE. POW!**

**Me: Wh-what?! No no no no noooo! Bring it back!**

**MC: Nope.**

…

**Yeah, so I lost my progress on this chapter once. It was a huge pain in the butt, and it caused my motivation to write to drop drastically. Finally finished it however. Sorry for how long it's been. Will try to do better. And, y'know…save more often.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

Chapter 7

Stinging hatred.

That's the only thing Elsa could sense from the woman behind her. And it had been following her for the last ten minutes as she, Ignus and the raging would-be killer walked in awkward silence down the musty old tunnel. It probably wasn't too good for her, and she was seriously concerned that all the dirty looks she had been receiving would manifest themselves into some giant hate-ulcer in her brain.

Ignus had once again lit his hand and was standing very close to Elsa, almost protectively. She certainly didn't mind. She had already been attacked, hell, almost KILLED by this "Aren" character. Having Ignus there to tell her to back off was as welcome as a cool breeze in this desert climate. Plus…she was finding that she wasn't minding Ignus being this close. Normally, she'd recoil and let some sort of ballistic ice projectile shoot out of her hands, but Ignus, enigmatic as he was, was a sort of rock for her. The knowledge that he could melt anything she froze was like a failsafe, and it made controlling her powers all the less stressful. She had gone for the longest time without an incident (or as Ignus had said jokingly, an Ice-ident.)

Aside from the little slip-up with Aren, of course.

"Hey."

Speaking of which…

Aren's paradoxically smooth voice cut through the silence, and Elsa didn't need confirmation that the hostile tone was directed at her.

"Get this shit off of me."

By "shit", Elsa assumed Aren meant the ice she had reflexively caused to form over Aren's arms. It was a rather crass way to describe her powers, and though Elsa was no fan of them, it didn't exactly please her to be mocked like that.

"I can't get that 'shit' off of you." Elsa replied in as cool a voice as she could. "You'll have to-"

"Bullshit you can't!" Aren interrupted loudly.

Elsa was beginning to see that Ignus' crack about her foul mouth was well-founded…

"How can she even do this?! Is she another one of you freaks?" Aren continued, now speaking to Ignus.

Elsa felt a stab at the word _freak_, and felt her pulse quicken with both indignation and shame. Ignus obviously felt one too, as his eyes darkened. But instead of turning to Aren, he looked at Elsa.

"She used to call me that, and it _used_ to be a term of endearment…but I'm guessing not anymore."

"Damn right." Came the harsh voice from behind them.

"Aren, I'll get that ice off of you once we're out of here, alright? Now please-"

"How about you get it off of me now!"

"Frankly, I'm not too opposed to the idea of you not being able to use your hands for a bit!" Ignus threw back, his temper flaring a bit.

A slew of curses came from Aren's mouth, muttered just loud enough for him to hear, though he didn't respond.

"So why can't she do it? Can't she…get rid of it?"

"That's not your concern."

"There's. Ice. On. My. Fucking. Hands. How is it _not_ my concern?!"

Ignus didn't respond. Elsa realized that he didn't want to reveal her inability to control her powers. She felt a sudden rush of affection for him, but a stab of shame as well from the sobering reminder.

"I'm…not as well-practiced as B-Brann is." Elsa said, stumbling over the pseudonym. She quietly thanked the heavens that she was able to resist saying Ignus' name.

"What, so you can't control it?" Aren said in a louder voice.

"Not yet." Elsa half-lied.

"Then what the hell was this for?!" Aren shouted, pointing at her iced arms.

"You attempted to kill me! It was a bit of a reflex!" Elsa retorted in a voice simply oozing sarcasm.

Aren sent her another nasty look, then snorted, looking away.

What was her _problem_?

Elsa sent Ignus a pleading look, begging for _some_ kind of context as to who this woman was, but he simply looked at her with his red eyes in a manner that said, "I'll tell you later".

Trying to bury her impatience, Elsa instead thought about the situation for a moment. This Aren person most certainly detested her, though she had no real evidence as to why. Ignus said that he'd known her previously, in some organization called the "Black Arrows", whatever that was. Maybe some kind of cult? A guild, or something? Whatever it was, it seemed to teach people how to hurt others.

Elsa then realized that if Ignus was a part of this "Black Arrow" group, he too could probably kill another person. A frightening thought erupted into her brain, suddenly. What if he _had_? Were those red eyes stained with the blood of others? He seemed so…_caring_ when Elsa met him. Selflessly aiding her with no promise of reward, protecting her from the men trying to kill her, even taking a crossbow bolt for he-

She gasped all of a sudden, whirling her head around to Ignus.

"How is your wound?!" She asked desperately. How could she have forgotten?

Ignus almost jumped back from her reaction.

"Wh-It's fine. It's alright." Ignus said steadily. Too steadily.

Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Flex it."

Ignus seemed to hesitate.

"I'd, uh…rather not."

With a snap of her hand, Elsa created a chair beside Ignus. She pointed at it with such force enough to knock a man out with.

"Sit."

Aren looked between them. "What's going on?"

Ignus looked at the chair, and seemed to realize there was nothing to be gained by arguing. He silently sat in the chair and undid his jacket, pulling down his undershirt just enough to reveal the wound, which looked as painful as ever. It had since been cauterized, but cauterization was hardly enough by itself if Ignus wanted a full recovery. Did he even realize that?

Elsa released a breath through her teeth. Two days. Two days ago she had been in a palace getting a crown put on her head, and now she was pulling arrows out of people and getting strangled. Her life had turned into some sort of masochistic nightmare.

Nontheless, Ignus was hurt. And she wouldn't deprive him of relief.

Cooling her thoughts, Elsa took a breath and placed her hand gently against the wound. Ignus winced as he had before as Elsa numbed his wound, and Aren made an outraged exclamation, but they both relaxed in the next moment as Elsa took her hand away.

As Elsa looked into Ignus' eyes, she saw them soften to a point where hey didn't look so fearsome anymore, even with their harsh red hue. They looked…focused. And…she was _really_ trying not to say attractive…

"Thanks, Elsa." He said quietly.

Elsa felt another little rush at the sheer honesty and care in his voice. She suddenly realized she was _quite_ close to him and wasted no time in changing the subject.

"You-why didn't you just ask for help? I could've numbed the wound at anytime-"

"Because he doesn't want help. Ever." Aren interrupted. Her voice, however, had lost some of its hardness. "Doesn't matter how many times he gets hurt. He'll never ask for a hand to help pull him up."

Elsa noticed the tone in her voice, and realized Aren was speaking from experience.

"How long have you two known each other?" Elsa asked, hoping to finally receive some information.

Aren seemed to notice this, unfortunately.

"What business is it of yours, girlie?!"

"Aren." Ignus spoke.

The brunette seemed to bristle, sending Ignus an angry look. After a bit, however, she relented, turning away in a heated breath.

"Whatever, Spit."

Ignus nodded and turned back to Elsa.

"Aren and I knew each other for years. We both joined up in the same guild, the Black Arrows, as I mentioned before. They were a sort of traveling mercenary group. We'd travel from city to city looking for jobs and the means to afford a living. We'd sometimes be hired by kingdoms, sometimes by…people that most wouldn't find moral."

Elsa swallowed. Her suspicions of Ignus' past were beginning to come to fruition. Ignus seemed to notice.

"You've probably guessed what kind of work we did." He said quietly.

Elsa nodded again. She was startled to see Ignus clench his fists together, like he was angry about something. It took him a while to get to his next sentence, but before he could get it out, Aren once again displayed her remarkable patience.

"For GOD'S sake, Spit, you'd think she was some sort of Judge!" She snapped. Turning to Elsa, she put on an almost smug face. "We did what we had to. The Arrows…they were all we had. They were our brothers and sisters, and whatever we did, we did as one body, one person."

"We tried to keep things simple and clean as much as we could-"

"But we weren't afraid to get our hands dirty. And we weren't ashamed to either." Aren said defiantly.

Ignus' face showed anything but agreement.

"We met in the early days. We ascended the ranks together." Ignus continued quietly. "Pretty soon she was lieutenant and I was a Captain, just below her." He almost chuckled at this in reminiscence.

"After a while I left. That was about three years ago. And here we are."

The briskness with which Ignus wrapped that up seemed to outrage both Elsa and Aren.

"Wh-that's it? There has to be more than-"

"You're not even going to tell her about-"

Ignus stood up so quickly that Elsa and Aren both jumped back a bit. The ferociousness in his eyes returned.

"That's. It." He stated.

And he turned again towards the exit of the tunnel, lighting his hand.

Elsa stood in shocked silence. That had been the first time Ignus had so much as snapped at her. And while the years alone had given her a thick skin, the fact that she upset him stung more than she anticipate, to the point where it matched her own indignation.

Aren growled silently.

"Let's go, girlie." She muttered.

Elsa, though unwilling to acknowledge this woman as a superior, acquiesced.

"Why do you call him Spit?" Elsa asked suddenly, remembering that odd name.

"That's the only name he ever gave me, and the Arrows. Spitfire. Decided to make him suffer for it." Aren replied shortly.

Elsa almost laughed. Aren frowned at her.

"Guessing he gave you a fake name as well?"

Elsa was about to reply "no" when Ignus' request came back to her. Biting her tongue, she instead said "Yeah. Brann."

Aren laughed derisively. "Brann? He always did like stupid names."

It was a bit hard to laugh along with her when Elsa herself had come up with that name…

Aren sighed. "Yeah. I used to think mysterious men were sexy, but…"

She looked out at the end of the tunnel. "They're just frustrating."

What she was implying startled Elsa. Had they…?

"Well, whatever. Sooner you get your weird, magic voodoo crap off me the better." Aren muttered, waving her hands and walking away.

Elsa sent the back of her head an angry look. She shook her head in exasperation, her thoughts turning to the red-eyed man.

Ignus was so determined to keep himself a secret, to hide away, but why? Why was he so…reclusive?

Elsa felt a weight drop in her stomach as she realized that Ignus might not even be his real name…

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The light of the sun had never been more appealing as Ignus stepped out of the tunnel into a dingy cellar. There were several barrels of wine collecting dust and a large number of crates doing the same. Stairs led to the floor above, and there was a single window shining the lovely orange color of the sunset into the room.

Climbing out, he turned around to see Aren and Elsa walk out behind him. He had to admit, he was worried the entire way down that Aren would try to strangle Elsa again if he melted her arms. He was shocked that she didn't instead try to brain Elsa with said arms, which now functioned as well as clubs. She always did have a bit of a violent tendency.

Luckily, Elsa appeared un-brained, and smiled softly at him as she clambered out of the cramped pathway.

Her smiles had started to become a major motivation for Ignus. The way they made her face look even more beautiful…

It was getting quite hard to push down his thoughts. And it had only been two days. How long would this entire escapade take? Months? Arendelle was halfway across the nation, for god's sake.

The exact calculations were lost on him, but he knew it would be a long enough time to cause him to slowly lose control of these raging-yet-abashedly-pleasing thoughts.

Shaking himself, he extinguished his arm and pointed at the room above them silently.

"Let's go."

"Hey hey!" Aren hissed, holding out her hands.

Ignus tried not to look like he had actually forgotten. Putting his hands on the ice, he heated them to a point where the ice began to melt. In a few seconds, Aren was able to smack her arms against a wall and break the remaining ice off of them.

"Fuckin' finally…"

"You're welcome." Ignus muttered.

They ascended the staircase and entered into a humble looking bar area. At the end of the room behind the stand was a burly looking man with a burlier beard wiping a glass. Hearing the noise, he turned and looked at the three of them. His eyes widened in shock at first, but they faded into a look of pleasant surprise.

"I should really put a bell on you." The man said, chuckling. "Or at least make you start telling me when you're gonna pop out of my cellar."

Ignus smiled and walked over to shake the man's hand. "Good to see you, Eddie."

"Likewise. " He replied. Looking over Ignus' shoulder, he gave him a sideways look.

"You're gonna drive this old man insane, lad. Bringing all these beautiful women into my bar..." He muttered loudly enough for both Aren and Elsa to hear.

"Oh, stop Eddie. There's not a woman alive deserving a man such as yourself." Aren said, smirking.

Eddie wasn't exactly the brightest bulb on the Hanukah tree, but he was smart enough to pick up on the double meaning to that little "compliment".

"Good to see your attitude's as lovable as ever, lass." He grumped. Turning to Elsa, his face lightened a bit.

"Haven't met you before, have I? Name's Eddie." He said to her courteously.

Elsa looked a bit flustered, which didn't surprise Ignus. She probably wasn't too used to being called beautiful, or being introduced to new people for that matter.

"E-Elsa. The pleasure is mine." She said finally, giving Eddie a respectful nod.

"Oh, finally! I meet a proper lady!" Eddie laughed. "I swear, every pretty girl in this town's either got a personality as sweet as your brown-haired one here-"

"Up yours, compadre."

"Or they're in the 'entertainment' business!" Eddie finished.

Elsa appeared confused, and looked to Ignus for an explanation. Ignus mouthed the word "prostitutes", which made Elsa flush a brilliant pink color.

"Well, enough about me and my woes." Eddie stated rousingly. "What brings you to Dezertis?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that as well." Aren said, turning to face Ignus.

He paused for a moment. Revealing Elsa's wish to see the world before returning to her throne would only garner trouble from the two of them. But he was getting a bit sick of lying around Elsa…something that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"We came to see the city. That's all." Ignus said truthfully.

Aren, ironically, didn't seem to believe him. "Yeah right. What's the real reason?"

"It's true!" Elsa insisted, coming to Ignus' back. "I was…somewhat sheltered where I used to live. I met this man after he was attacked by these…Rivermen. Afterwards, he offered to take me to see the world."

Ignus felt himself stare at Elsa in wonder at her lie. Aren and Eddie were doing the same, though they didn't seem to pick up on her dishonesty.

"You're still being chased by those fuckers?!" Aren shouted indignantly, whirling around to Ignus.

"Not anymore." He said quickly. "I lost them."

"You said that five years ago!"

"And I mean it this time."

Aren gave him a look that seemed to be half-worried half-angry. She waved her arms in exasperation while Eddie looked at Ignus in mild surprise.

"So let me get this straight, laddie. She found you while you were weak from an attack by some men, and now you're traveling around the world together?"

The connotation was not lost on Ignus.

"It was more complicated than that." Ignus replied coolly.

"Pfft. There's nothing simpler in the world." Eddie said snarkily.

If Elsa was at all unnerved, she hid it well.

Ignus rubbed his eyes wearily. "Look, Ed, we just walked a long way, and had a bit of a stressful day thanks to Chokey McStrongarms over here. Can we just get some rooms for the night?"

"Two beds or one?" Eddie asked in a suggestive manner.

That little comment was a bit too much for Elsa's composure, making her blush a teensy bit.

"Separate. Rooms." Ignus said in a stony voice, signaling the end to Eddie's foolery.

"Alright, alright, lad." Eddie chuckled.

Reaching under the counter, he pulled out two sets of keys and tossed them to Ignus, who caught them deftly.

"Appreciate it." Ignus said, walking towards the staircase and to the rooms upstairs.

Elsa, still a bit flustered, simply watched him as Aren sighed and sat by the bar.

"Hook me up here, Ed."

"Sorry, lass. Fresh out. Expecting a shipment tomorrow."

"Just like you were expecting one the last time I was here. And the time before that. And the time before that. Now shaddup and get me a drink."

Eddie smirked in amusement and got out a bottle, pouring a sizeable drink for the woman.

"Will you be wanting one, Miss Elsa?" He asked.

Elsa was about to politely refuse, but Aren cut her off.

"Nah. Alcohol touches those chaste lips they'll probably burn right offa her mouth." She remarked, smirking

An eyebrow twitched.

"I _have_ tasted alcohol before." She said coolly.

"Oh, I'm sure. You nobles always do."

Elsa started at this. "How did you-"

"Please, the proper speech, the naïve looking eyes, the innocence to reality…you practically ooze noble. I bet you've only tasted wine."

Elsa bit her lip, realizing Ignus' warnings of her appearance were to be taken seriously.

"That doesn't mean I can't drink!" Elsa said in a huff. She felt ice crawl out from around her feet, but ignored it.

Eddie seemed nervous at Elsa's display of powers. "U-um…is she doing that?"

"What? Oh, yeah, Princess Proper here's got ice powers."

"Wh-like the lad upstairs?!"

"Yeah. Big whoop. Let's move on." Aren droned, swiveling around to face Elsa. "Let's see what you got, sweetums."

She held out the glass full of liquor towards Elsa, who was now lightly emitting frost. She looked at the glass with a drop of hesitation. What Aren had said was unfortunately true. Her only experience with alcohol was the wine they carried in the castle, and even then she had seldom more than a single glass every other day.

But the longer that glass remained lingering in Aren's hands, the larger her smug grin grew. And that was not something Elsa was willing to deal with.

With a swift motion, Elsa grabbed the glass and, without allowing her brain to convince her how stupid this was, drained the glass.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Rooftops were very comfortable.

At least, that's what Ignus had come to realize in his lifetime of wandering. One would think that they'd be a nightmare to sleep on, what with the tiles and all. But Ignus had found that if you could overcome the hardness of the surface, simply laying back and staring at the sky could put you to sleep faster than any bed in the world.

The moon had appeared as Ignus looked out over Dezertis. He could hear the sound of the water rushing through the aqueducts above his head and the slowly dying sound of chatter on the streets below. He had been up here for a few hours, simultaneously relaxing and worrying about what could be happening inside with Elsa and Aren. He heard no alarming noises, however, so he had remained where he was.

Ignus always cherished these moments. Not having to constantly watch his back, being able to relax a shred more than usual…it was the definition of therapeutic (and god knows he needed a lot of _that…_)

The shingles creaked as he heard the light footsteps that could only belong to Aren approach him. Sure enough, she appeared next to him and sat down, taking another swig from her flask.

"Shitty night." She said brusquely.

"What are you talking about? It's gorgeous. Every star is out, it's pleasantly cool, this is the epitome of a good night." Ignus replied.

"Exactly, it's too perfect. It makes me uncomfortable." Aren responded back.

"You have to enjoy nights like these, not gripe about them when they arrive."

"Way I see it, having a perfect night like this is just the signal that every night after it is gonna be worse."

She took another swig.

"I see you haven't changed your attitude much." Ignus commented.

"I see you're suddenly addicted to playing 'Mr. Prince' to that bimbo down there. You get some sort of injury to the head while you were away?"

"Don't call her that."

"Fine, does Ice-bitch work better?"

"I mean it."

"Yeah, me fuckin' too! I don't like her, alright? "

"Never would've guessed."

"Shut up." Aren growled. "I mean what were you thinking?!"

"I'm just trying to help her get home."

"That's not what you said downstairs! I thought you were just taking her out for some bullshit adventure!"

"No. I…accidentally let something-well…it's my fault she's away, alright? And I'm gonna help her get back."

"Really? That's all there is to it?"

"Yes." Ignus stated hardly.

"You sure?"

Ignus didn't respond to that one. He himself didn't know the answer.

Aren vehemently exhaled and swigged again. "Never thought I'd meet you again like this…helping out some girl. I thought I'd either find you holed up in some cave or dead."

"Your confidence is flattering."

"You were the one who walked out Ignus! You were the one who wanted to be alone! And now here I find you doing the exact OPPOSITE of what you said you were gonna do! If you're gonna turn your back on us, you could at least have the balls to not be a hypocrite about it!" Aren was now shouting.

Ignus rubbed his eyes. He knew Aren would be angry with him, and honestly, he couldn't blame her. What she said was true. He left the Arrows in the pursuit of solitude, yet here he was, like some sort of glorified squire for her majesty the Queen.

"Things got complicated, alright? I was hiding from the River one night when I found her hiding herself away, just like I was. Once I saw that she had those powers, that...I had to help her. I wanted to."

"So any broad with magic is automatically your lord and ruler?" Aren snapped.

Ignus possessed remarkable patience, but he had a limit.

"Enough! I know what this is really about, okay?" He snapped.

Aren's face immediately sharpened into a "tread lightly or die" state.

"You can hate me all you want. I'm not here to change your mind. But do _not_ blame Elsa for my mistakes." He snarled.

For a minute, Aren simply stared at him, emitting an aura of despise that, if physical, could have certainly killed a man. Ignus knew she was contemplating hitting him.

"That's it then? 'Hi Aren, nice to see you, by the way instead of making good on my reasons to leave I ran away with a cute girl with a frosty touch'?"

A cold, red stare was her only response.

"Fuckin' unbelievable." She muttered, standing up. "Well, whatever. Hope you and your little pasty skank are real happy together. I'll tell Sikar you said hi."

Before Ignus could make a rebuke, she leaped off the roof, making her way across the city.

Ignus tried to settle the anger he felt at Aren's lovely parting words. She always managed to push his buttons. She used to only push the good ones.

He was worried that this little venture of his would result in some unpleasant memories being dredged up. He just didn't think it could happen this soon.

Sighing loudly into the night, Ignus stood up from the roof and crept to the window. He figured he might as well check on Elsa. She probably had a lot of questions for him.

God, he was embarrassed. Strike that, he was _ashamed_. In ONE day, his Arrow days had been revealed, complete with the homicidal friend. Hell, Elsa had pulled a fucking _arrow_ out of him. What would she think? Would she even want to speak to him?

These questions buzzed in his head even as he felt a weight against his chest and hair tickling his neck.

Then the questions fell to the bottom of the priority bin.

"What the-?! Elsa?!"

"Hiiiii, Ignus!"

Elsa was hugging him. She was holding him holy crap. Holy Jesus Elsa currently had her arms around his neck in what could only be an affectionate manner.

_Look, saying it over and over again in your head isn't gonna help you believe it any more._

He summoned every scrap of willpower he had and pushed Elsa away from him a bit. He was finally able to see her face, and to his utter shock saw that her eyes were somewhat glazed over, complete with a blush across her cheeks.

"Elsa, are you drunk!?"

"Nope. No…not drunk. Inebriated. Say it with me Ignus." She said in a light voice. She slapped her hand (hard) against Ignus' mouth and started moving it like a puppet.

"Eee-nee-bree-ated. Say it!" She giggled.

Ignus, at this point completely flabbergasted, looked around for any kind of evidence as to what happened. He finally spotted several empty cups in the counter.

"EDDIE!"

Ignus had to continuously fight off Elsa's attempts to make him say 'inebriated' as he ran to the counter searching for the traitorous bartender. He found only a note on the counter, with Eddie's scrawled handwriting. It read:

_Laddie,_

_Your girl's quite the lightweight. Few drinks and she was smashed harder than a nail under a warhammer. _

_I'm off to sleep before she tries to get me to sing the national anthem again. Make sure she gets to bed okay, if you catch my drift._

_You're welcome._

_-Eddie_

"Stupid, crinkly, perverted old bastard…" Ignus hissed.

"Ignus, don't be sad!" Elsa said in a whimpering voice. "Here, look! Snowflakes!"

With a flick of her hand, a burst of snow erupted outwards, hitting Ignus full in the face. Spitting out the powder, Ignus marveled at the fact that Elsa seemed to be able to control her powers _more_ when she was under the influence.

_Great. Just freakin' great. There's the take-home message of the day, _Ignus thought to himself sarcastically.

"Alright, Els, let's get you to bed. It's been a long day, you're very tired, we all need some shuteye." Ignus said rousingly, trying his best to guide Elsa to the stairs.

"Wh-Taking me to bed already?" Elsa said in a very innocent voice. "Ignus, it's been two days…it's so _soon_…" She whispered in a sultry voice.

_Good God, this is my punishment. This is my just, deserved punishment for getting her involved in all this shit._

"Very funny." Ignus muttered, blushing furiously beneath his hood. "Like I didn't need more reasons to keep you drunk…"

Elsa merely smiled, humming to herself as they ascended the stairs.

"Ignus, why does Aren hate me so much?" She asked, looking at him with her glazed (but still attractive) eyes.

"She, uh…she doesn't like meeting new people."

"Hmmmmm. Me neither." Elsa replied.

They entered one of the bedrooms, and Ignus directed Elsa towards the bed. She flopped down onto it rather comically.

"Okay, uh…you stay here. Don't move. And sleep well." Ignus said awkwardly.

Elsa mumbled something into the pillow beneath her face. Ignus took that as a good sign that she was out.

Heaving a satisfied sigh, Ignus walked to his own room. It had been a hell of a day, and he was looking forward to relaxing a bit on the roof.

He knew he wouldn't sleep, however. Aren's arrival had sent his paranoia skyrocketing.

So he sat on the rooftop outside Elsa's window, watching the life in the city slowly burn out, thinking all night about how much his situation had changed. How he had told Elsa his true name, without even a second thought.

And how easily all of this could turn tragic.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note – HOLY SHIT HE UPDATED IN LESS THAN A MONTH.**

**Yeah he did.**

**NEW ART! ON MY DvA PAGE!**

**Which is StanfordExperiment, by the way.**

**Go check it out! It's awesome! And there's even a special surprise for those who liked Singed!**

**Also, I don't do this often, but I feel the need to recommend another fic. It's JEGlass' "For The First Time In Never". I wouldn't be recommending it to you unless I was literally jumping for joy every time I see another chapter up. It's a great story. Pretty damn dark, but really good. It's gonna make that heart of yours pound.**

**Enjoy the Chapter.**

**-TSE**

Chapter 8

_You like her!_

"Shut UP. I do not."

_You've spent almost every minute we've been in this castle with her!_

"That's only because I can't find anything by myself! This place is enormous!"

_That's not an excuse._

"It actually _is_ a perfectly good excuse. And we're done talking about this."

Kristoff leaned back in his chair and reached for his lute. Quick as a whip, Sven snatched it with his teeth and jumped away from him.

"Wh-Sven DON'T! You're gonna get bite marks all over it!"

_Chell me 'at 'oo rike 'er!_

"I can't even understand you right now! Spit it out!" Kristoff exclaimed.

Sven gave him a stubborn look.

'_is ish a'out 'at shobby pince guy!_

"What?!"

Sven spit out the lute behind him.

_This is about that snobby prince guy, isn't it?_

"Oh, I'm sorry, you mean Anna's _fiancé_?" Kristoff drawled. "I think you left that little detail out. AND NO-" Kristoff raised his voice to cut off Sven. "I'm not concerned about it because I'm NOT INTERESTED in her. I just want our sled and then we can get outta this damn maze."

Sven snorted frustratedly.

_You just care about the sled?_

"That's the reason we came down here, isn't it?"

_We came down here to make sure Anna was okay!_

Kristoff scowled at his friend. He was a dope, but he was an insightful dope.

"Look. Sven. What does it even matter? She's getting married to this guy. He's a PRINCE. With MONEY. And…sideburns! I don't have sideburns! Or money, or…whatever princes have that I don't!"

_But you're a good guy! And Anna doesn't seem like the kind of girl who cares about how much gold you have! And sideburns are stupid! _Sven urged.

He then picked up the lute and returned it to Kristoff.

_Look, maybe this won't work out. Maybe she won't be the right girl for you. But you can't just ignore the fact that you like her!_

Kristoff's eyes fell.

"Look, I just…I just don't want to cause trouble. She's got enough on her plate already, what with her sister still missing and the council bearing down on her."

_Wait, what council?_

"The Arendellian Council? They're sort of like the advisors to the Queen, but in the absence of a Queen they take control of the Kingdom. From what Anna told me, they're trying to make her into the new Queen of Arendelle, an idea she's none too fond of."

_Wait, and…Anna told you this?_

"Yeah…why?"

_Kris, she's coming to you about her problems!_

"Yeah! She is! Which is a surefire sign that I'm her _friend_. Not _love interest_. She never goes to Hans with her problems, and she's nutso for 'em."

_Look, all you need to do is push a bit. Let her know that there _could_ be something between you two!_

"Oh, and how am I supposed to do that?" Kristoff finally asked, giving up on the denial.

_Well, first off, don't tell her that you eat your own boogers…_

It was like the memory of that little confession had physically punched Kristoff in the gut.

"You think I don't regret that?!" He hissed at his friend. "It just…I was annoyed!"

_Alright, alright, calm down. _Sven snorted gently. _Maybe the best course of action is to be patient. Just be there for Anna as this whole 'kidnapping' thing goes on. I know she'll appreciate it._

Kristoff sighed. "Yeah…you're right. Again."

_Of course I am. _Sven communicated with a smile.

"Geez, you're subtlety is as bad as your stench." Kristoff threw back.

It was then that he heard a small 'eep' come from behind him.

Turning around, Kristoff felt his chest jump a bit as he saw Anna standing in front of him. For half a second, he was mortified that she had heard him, but it looked like she had just entered the room, thank God.

She still looked embarrassed though. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were on fire with color. If Kristoff didn't know any better, he'd think she was about to cry.

Anna then lifted a piece of her dress to her nose and sniffed at it carefully.

Kristoff was now very confused. What on earth was she-

His words came back to him.

_You're subtlety is as bad as your stench._

Did she think-?!

"Not you!" Kristoff almost shouted. Anna flew a foot in the air with shock. "I-jesus, I didn't mean you!"

Anna was bewildered. "O-oh, I mean…I thought-"

"No! No, no, no! I'm so sorry, I wasn't talking to you…" Kristoff pleaded in anguish.

Anna looked like she could have died of relief.

"Oh, thank god…I thought I was smelly _and_ clumsy for a moment."

She didn't even seem mad at him, but this almost made it all the worse.

"God, Anna, I'm-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel self-conscious-"

"It's alright! It's alright, really!" She assured him, waving her arms innocently. "I forgot you talk to Sven all the time."

The way she put it, Kristoff realized it really was kind of weird…

"W-well…yeah. I was."

"About what?" Anna asked.

"You."

Kristoff's mouth had blurted it out before he could stop himself. Sven choked on some hay he was eating.

Anna looked embarrassed again.

"So, uh…then you _were_ talking about me when-"

"You don't smell Anna. At all. I swear." Kristoff said, desperately seeking to even fractionally ameliorate the catastrophic conversation he had initiated.

"O-okay!" Anna squeaked, looking marginally more relieved. "Well, uh…what about, then?"

Kristoff sent Sven a small look. The reindeer looked right back, eyes practically screaming "Gently".

"We, uh…we just want you to know that we're here to help you out. With your sister, with the council, with…everything."

Anna's eyes widened a bit. She gave Kristoff a very sweet smile, and he felt his heart beat just a bit quicker.

"Thank you so much-"

"Y'know, until the sled arrives! Not like, forever, just…yeah. Sled."

"Oh…right. The sled." Anna replied, a bit less enthusiastically.

Kristoff meant it to sound like he had no intention of being a third wheel to her and Hans. It instead came out like he wanted nothing more than to get the hell outta Arendelle.

"I mean, no rush! No rush at all! Just…dah…" Kristoff finally gave up on trying to salvage the exchange they had just suffered through.

Anna, however, was laughing. Kristoff looked at her with bewilderment.

"You sound totally coo-coo." She giggled.

Kristoff's ears reddened. "I…feel kind of coo-coo."

Anna looked down a bit, though she was still smiling. "Thank you for helping me with this. With everything."

He snorted gently. "I really haven't done that much…"

"Stop it! Of course you have!" Anna insisted. "You took me up the mountain, you helped me climb through a crazy castle falling to pieces, and you helped me back here! And you've…you've just been a good friend to me. And I couldn't be more appreciative."

Kristoff felt a bittersweet pang at the words "good friend".

"Yeah, well…I try."

There was an awkward silence, as neither person really knew what to say next.

So, of course, Kristoff's brain went with the worst option.

"How're things with Hans?"

Sven almost stood up and kicked him right then and there. Kristoff would have actually appreciated it. Maybe that'd get him to stop being an idiot.

Anna seemed startled. "Uh-Great! Wonderful! He's been helping with all the leaving delegates and informing them about the kidnapper, and uh…"

She faltered at the memory of the situation. "So, they're going to…y'know, go back to their kingdoms and look for Elsa…"

The strain in her voice was enough for even a dense man like Kristoff to pick up on. He stood up immediately.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Anna sighed. "Honestly? No, not really. I just…want to _do_ something about it. I'm just sitting here like a little kid doing _nothing_ while I send other people to look for _my_ sister. She's _my_ sister! Shouldn't she be _my_ responsibility? But apparently, the only responsibility I need to worry about is taking her stupid place as a stupid QUEEN!"

Her voice had increased in volume as her rant went on. Though Kristoff was quite honestly a bit unnerved, he was also impressed. Anna wasn't a girl who'd wait for others to help her, rather _she'd _be the one to help them. It was a code he admired greatly, most likely stemming from his days as an ice farmer, helping his comrades harvest the treacherous prize.

But at the same time, what were their options? There was no way to be sure of Elsa's location. Logically, she shouldn't be that far from her Palace (or the remains of it), but then again, they weren't sure what this Red-Eye was capable of (this is what most of Arendelle was referring to him as). Maybe his magic allowed him to fly. He could be halfway around the world!

As the subject of magic came up, Kristoff couldn't help but ask Anna a question.

"Did you know? About Elsa?"

Anna's face was more than enough of an answer.

"…no. I never did. It…god, it all makes so much sense now. Why she'd never talk to me, why she'd always hide away, why her doorknob was always so cold."

Kristoff chuckled silently at that.

Anna flapped her arms a bit. "I mean, that was it right? She was afraid I'd think she'd be some kind of freak, or monster, right?"

"I…I suppose so-"

"But I wouldn't have!" Anna almost cried. The desperation in her voice was more than enough to tell Kristoff that this had been on her mind for a long time.

"Why couldn't she have just _trusted_ me? How many lonely years could have been avoided?! Why couldn't she-why-"

To his mortification, Kristoff saw Anna give a small sniff and wipe her eyes quickly.

Every inch of him yearned to hug her. A rather insane part of him wanted to kiss her. But he had neither the nerve or the courage to do either.

Instead he walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She was shaking.

"Anna…it's so easy to wish things had turned out differently. Believe me, I know. I've had some pretty scary ice ventures."

Anna gave a small laugh at that.

"But what matters now is what comes next. Finding your sister. Bringing her home." He stressed, still looking at her closed eyes.

Finally, she opened them, once again making Kristoff repress a shudder from the beauty in those turquoise eyes. She nodded just a bit.

Kristoff smiled subconsciously. "And once we get the word out, people will know what to look for. I mean, there's gotta be someone out there with knowledge of magic. Hell, _I _know someone who's got a lot of experience in magic, and I'm just a bumbling ice-farm-"

"Wait, what did you say?!" Anna's face snapped to attention.

"I'm a bumbling ice farmer?"

"Before that!"

"I…know someone who's got a lot of experience in magic!" Kristoff repeated, his voice growing louder as understanding dawned upon him.

"Gods above, I'm such an IDIOT! Grand Pabbie! Grand Pabbie can help us!"

It was like someone had supercharged Anna. Gone was the melancholy gloom that had hung over her. Her mouth had sprung up into an ecstatic smile.

"Great! GREAT! Where is he, when can we talk to him?!"

"Right now! I'll hitch up Sven!" Kristoff said, excited by Anna's reaction.

"Okay! O-Okay…wait, are we doing this? Are we-yes! Yes, okay! I'll go get a horse!"

And she shot out of the barn.

Kristoff felt himself grinning as he put Sven's saddle on. However, it's recipient did not seem pleased at all.

_You are alone with her in a barn and the only thing you can think of is mentioning her fiancé?_

The stupidity of the move was made all the worse by Sven's deadpan imaginary voice.

"Hey, I'm helping her, aren't I?!"

Sven snorted.

_You better pray you get this girl, Kristoff. No other woman alive is gonna be able to put up with your thick skull and still smile._

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The boat was beginning to rock.

What had once been a miraculously simple plan had complicated into the current situation Hans found himself in. He had been expecting this, of course, as no plan went this smoothly, especially one of the size and caliber he had concocted.

There was the presence of the stranger known as Lionel, which constantly set Hans on edge. He had not visited the man yet, or had even talked to him really. It was most unlike Hans to ignore a problem, yet in this instance he felt that staving off this issue would yield the best results, at least for now.

Indeed, what he was focusing on now was his fiancé's wandering affection.

He was looking out a window in the Arendellian Castle; one that had a perfect view of the stable that Man-Troll was residing in. He had seen Anna walk into it, and it was taking quite a long time for her to leave.

Hans didn't assume the worst, however. Anna was as chaste as she was stupidly innocent. But spending time with the blonde would only serve to deviate her affection from him, and that could make marrying her all the more difficult.

Intervention was required.

And so as he saw Anna rush out of the shed, looking perplexedly happy, Hans walked to the halls of Arendelle to cut her off, masking himself with the 'Prince Charming' guise he had so meticulously created.

Sure enough, Anna came barreling towards him like a mad elephant. It was almost amusing to see the look on her face as she came to a screeching halt.

"Hans! Hi-Hello! H-How are you?"

"I'm fine, but you seem like you just ran a mile!" Hans replied, pouring on the innocence. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes! Yes it is! Kristoff knows a person who can tell us about magic! We may be able to find something out about Elsa and Red-Eye!"

Hans' inner face darkened. Trying to find the true queen was not exactly in the best interest of a would-be ruler of Arendelle. However, attempting to stall or distract Anna would be even more counter-productive. Besides, Elsa was most likely dead by now, being away this long with a criminal.

So he decided to go along with this goose chase. But he would not let Anna get _everything_ she desired…

"That's great! When can we leave?" He asked in an excited and relieved voice.

Obviously Anna had not realized that he'd want to come. Her face fell into a look of surprise and shame, most likely at herself.

"O-oh, uh…right. Soon! Just…I actually was worried that maybe one of us should stay here to stay in charge while we're gone-"

"Oh, don't worry about that. The council can handle ruling a kingdom for a day." Hans said, waving his hand.

He would need to find out more about this person Kristoff had spoken of, and how well he or she could actually aid Anna in finding Elsa. And he certainly had to remind the wench that she was, in fact, getting married to the man in front of her.

"R-right. You're right." Anna agreed at last, though she was unable to hide the uncertainty in her voice. "Well, we're leaving now! I'll notify the council, you can go grab the horses."

"I'll be waiting in the stables." Hans called back to her as she ran off.

As soon as she rounded the corner, Hans let his face relax. Whatever idiot said smiling was easier than frowning obviously had no experience in acting.

He rubbed his jawline as he strode towards the stables. Form her reaction, it was obvious that Anna was no longer feeling the undying affection for him that she had the first day they had met. It was both liberating and a cause for concern. But like any other challenge in life, it could be solved with a simple series of countermeasures.

Getting rid of that Man-Troll seemed a good place to start.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Waking up had been a rather unkind activity for Elsa in the last couple days.

As her eyes slowly creaked open, she felt a loud banging in her head, like some fool was starting a march of war in her brain. She felt covers and a pillow, however, which put to rest the fear that she was once again waking up in a cave.

Her vision was still a bit blurry, but she could see that she was in a quaint little room, much like one you would find in an inn. It then hit Elsa that she _was_, in fact, inside an inn.

The events of last night were a bit hazy to her…the last thing she remembered was Aren's smug grin as she held out the glass, and the burning taste of the alcohol.

Good heavens, had she gotten _drunk_?

The continued banging in her head and her aversion to the light poking out of the shades was enough to convince her.

She groaned and flopped back down into the bed. She had certainly been setting a lot of new standards in the last few days. First time drunk, first time almost killed, first time using her powers, first time she was actually free…

That last thought brought a smile to her face. She was still free. All the things that had happened to her, though some of it was frightening and terrible, it was…god, she just felt so _alive_. Even while sitting in a bed with a pounding headache.

The pounding that came from the door was much more gentle, however. Upon hearing it, Elsa attempted to form words.

"Come in." She whispered.

There was no reaction from the door.

"Come in." She said again, trying to sound louder.

The doorknob clicked, and a very familiar hooded man with very familiar red eyes entered the room, carrying a tray.

"Good morning." He greeted, smiling warmly.

Elsa felt a little flutter at those words. It was most likely the lingering alcohol in her system.

"Hello." She returned, putting a hand to her head in an attempt to stop the banging.

"How's the headache?" Ignus asked shrewdly.

"Awful. I feel like a drum."

Ignus smirked. "Well, unfortunately for you, it looks like ice powers aren't enough to avoid a hangover."

The confirmation that she did indeed become intoxicated only served to embarrass Elsa more. "I'm experiencing a lot of new things recently…"

Ignus sighed in agreement, and walked over to her bed and put down the tray. On it was a platter of ham and eggs.

Though it was a simple gesture, Elsa was almost inexpressibly grateful. She doubted she could have even gotten out of bed for another hour, and she was quite hungry.

"Thank you, Ignus."

Ignus' red eyes met hers.

"I-I'm sorry, I mean Brann." Elsa corrected herself hastily.

Ignus looked at her stoically for a bit, but his mouth then curved into another small smirk.

"So long as we're alone, it's fine. I'm not accustomed to my real name, that's all." He said simply.

His words seemed so honest that Elsa found herself questioning her earlier suspicions that Ignus had lied to her about his name after all. She was about to question further, but the smell of the breakfast before her was too seductive. She began to eat as Ignus sat beside her in a chair.

She looked up at him as she started on the eggs. "Everything alright?"

"I was actually going to ask you that. You were quite…active last night."

An embarrassed blush took hold of Elsa's cheeks.

"I'm sorry about that…I'm ashamed of myself. I just let Aren's taunting get to me."

Ignus laughed lightly. "That's not hard to do."

"Where is she by the way? I thought she'd be in here by now to tease me." Elsa asked, looking around the room cautiously.

Ignus exhaled. "She left last night. I don't think we'll be seeing her again anytime soon."

Elsa was startled by this news, though she couldn't help but feel a shameless sense of relief. "Why did she leave?"

Once again, Ignus' response was only a darkened face. Elsa was grateful for the eggs, and really for everything else Ignus had done for her, but enough was enough.

"Ignus, a straight answer now and then would be appreciated…" She said in a half-pleading half-passive-aggressive voice.

Ignus seemed a bit taken aback, though that did little to evoke a sense of sheepishness in Elsa.

Then he flapped his arms awkwardly at his sides.

"I, uh…guess you're right."

Surprised it had been that easy, Elsa said nothing further, afraid of pushing her luck.

"We got into an argument last night. She doesn't…well, she doesn't like you."

"No kidding. And she left because of that?" Elsa asked.

"No…well, yes. Maybe. I don't know, she's been on her own schedule for a long time. She's still in the Black Arrows. Hell, she's a lieutenant. They have her doing all kinds of stuff. My guess is she didn't have time to stick around."

Elsa was skeptical. "It seems like she'd have stayed if I were not present."

Ignus put a hand on the table next to him.

"That's a possibility, yes."

There was a silence. Ignus seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

"When I left the Black Arrows, it was because I wanted to be left alone. Aren never thought it was a good enough reason."

Elsa pondered this, and then her mind clicked.

"So when she saw you with me…"

Ignus nodded solemnly.

While the outcome was certainly preferable in her opinion, Elsa nonetheless felt guilty.

"I'm sorry." She offered.

Ignus looked at her with surprised eyes.

"For what?"

"For…I don't know, being here? Making you seem like a hypocrite?"

"Elsa, I _am_ a hypocrite. I chose to be one. That's not your fault."

"You're only one because you wanted to help me, though!" Elsa insisted. At those words however, she felt a little twinge of skepticism.

"…right?"

She was expecting another silent response, but was surprised to see Ignus give her another warm smile.

"Elsa, I know I'm a shady son of a bitch, but that's one thing I didn't lie to you about."

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Elsa could have sworn that Ignus had some sort of ability to convey emotion in his every action. The only part of his face she could ever see were his eyes, mouth and jaw, yet she could understand the emotion in every action and word he spoke. He must have gotten good at it over the years.

In any case, it was comforting to Elsa that he wasn't simply incapable of conveying feelings. It made him seem more human. Not to an enormous extent, but enough to give a tinge of color to Elsa's cheeks as he spoke the words.

"That's good to know." She responded.

She was tempted to ask more about why he had left the Arrows, or even more about the arrows themselves, but she was certain that Ignus would not show the same openness upon answering those questions.

She decided to ask a more pressing question.

"I didn't…do anything embarrassing, did I?" She whispered. "While I was…inebriated?"

To her horror, Ignus let out a laugh at that.

"Oh, boy…well, a bit."

"A bit?!"

"Well…" Ignus muttered, his face going deathly serious. "I wasn't going to tell you…I thought it'd be better if…"

"Tell me what?!" Elsa pressed. She could already feel ice crawling out around her as her anxiety tripled.

Ignus was silent. Then…

"Well…you and Eddie…"

Elsa couldn't feel her heartbeat for ten seconds.

A pregnant silence lingered in the room.

It was eventually broken by the new, yet entirely welcome sound of Ignus' uncontrollable laughs.

Elsa realized immediately what had just transpired.

"You-We didn't-YOU BASTARD!" Elsa yelled. "You conniving, hooded BASTARD!"

Ignus couldn't even speak he was laughing so hard.

"Oh, god, your face! You looked like the world had ended!" He finally managed to say.

Elsa could have started a fire herself from the heat she felt in her face.

She decided to do the opposite.

With a snap of her hand, a large burst of snow lept from her hand and slammed directly into the laughing face of Ignus. It got him to calm down a little bit, but he was still giggling rather uncharacteristically as he melted the snow from his face.

"I'm so sorry…I couldn't resist."

"Couldn't resist giving me the most disgusting mental image one could conjur?!" Elsa spat back lividly.

Ignus continued grinning.

"Why is it that you only gain a sense of humor when teasing me?!" Elsa exclaimed in frustration.

At those words, Ignus' face calmed down a bit.

"I don't know. I'm a bit different around you, I suppose." He replied lightly.

Had she not been the butt end of a joke, Elsa would have felt a bit touched at this.

"Did I honestly, _truly_ do anything embarrassing?" Elsa repeated, with an edge in her voice.

Ignus smirked a bit, which only served to dampen her spirits more.

"Well, you made Eddie sing the national anthem. Then you drank some more…and then I walked in after the conversation with Aren. You said hello, hugged me, and then grabbed my face and tried to get me to say 'inebriated'."

Elsa wondered if it was possible to have a cap on the amount of humiliation she could feel. It was a wonder the room hadn't froze over…

Actually…it kind of _was_.

"Ignus, my powers didn't cause any problems did they?"

"No, actually. And you're doing quite well this morning. Even that little outburst earlier only dropped the temp a few degrees." Ignus noted, pointing at her hands.

Elsa held them up and stared at them in astonishment. Typically she'd have had at least one episode by this time…certainly at least a few icicles here or there. But there was no sign of any misuse of her abilities.

"How is this possible?" She asked in an amazed voice.

"I don't know." Ignus responded. "I'd like to think it isn't the alcohol…" He smiled as Elsa snorted at the idea. "Perhaps it's because you're feeling less confined?"

Elsa looked at him again. He held up his hands.

"I'm not claiming to know-"

"No, I think you're right. Ever since I left Arendelle I've been feeling more…open? I don't know, but…it's like every moment I remember how far away I am from it all…how free I am. It's like a sedative."

Her words were uncertain at first, but by the end of her explanation, Elsa felt sure that what she was saying was true. Being free like this…it was helping her control.

And with that little revelation came a happiness that Elsa had hardly known.

Ignus had apparently noticed, and though he said nothing, his eyes seemed to glow a bit more with warmth.

"I want to see the town." Elsa said suddenly.

She then put a hand to her mouth. Where had _that_ come from? She just blurted it out!

Ignus didn't seem to mind, though, as he stood up from the table.

"I suppose you want to exercise that new freedom. Though a 'please' now and again would be appreciated, if you could bear to do it." He said teasingly.

Elsa pursed her lips at him. But beneath her embarrassment, she felt a sense of connection with Ignus. They way they could tease each other…it was refreshing, and it made Elsa all the more sure that Ignus was very quickly becoming a friend.

"I'll think about it." She replied, giving him a haughty look.

He chuckled quietly. "It's a beautiful day. We'll have plenty of time to see the city. I may even be able to get you into the palace."

Elsa felt a little drop in her stomach at that. "I…I'm not too sure I want to go back inside a castle."

"It's a sight unlike anything you've ever seen. You won't regret it, I promise. And you won't be going in as Queen Elsa. You'll be going in as Elsa."

That comforted her a little bit. Nodding, she stood up and threw the covers off her bed.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute." She said, walking over to her mirror.

Ignus nodded. He turned towards the door and opened it. Had she still been watching him, Elsa may have seen him hesitate for just a moment before walking out and closing the door behind him.

Elsa looked at herself in the mirror. She was still wearing the clothes she fashioned for herself the day before, and they were filthy.

She stretched her arms. If she was going in as Elsa, she would have to look the part.

She cracked a smile as the magic began to flow from her hands.

**Hey, great job! You finished the chapter!**

**Seriously, that right there's almost 5,000 words you just read. All by yourself!**

**Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it, you lovely thing, you.**

**So, right now you're probably thinking of directing your attention somewhere else on this here internet. Before you do, maybe you could mosey on over to that little box down there and write a quick review? It's always appreciated.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, and see you soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry this took so long. I worked hard on it, so I'm not too ashamed of the lateness of it, but I do realize that a lot of you still want to read this. I'll do my best to do updates faster in the future. But for now, enjoy the chapter.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

**BTW – Mr. Crawg, that was a typo. Thanks for letting me know.**

Chapter 9

"Okay, okay, let's calm down now, lad…"

"You stood by and _watched_ as she got stone-cold drunk and then dumped her on me. I have the right to be a bit miffed."

"Certainly, certainly you do but-"

"It's you who needs to calm down. I'm not going to burn anything. Yet." Ignus said with a warning glance.

Eddie got the message loud and clear. Smiling weakly, he busied himself with cleaning the leftover glasses. He then steeled his nerves and coughed once.

"So…*ahem*…she did have quite a few drinks last night and, uh-"

Ignus shot him a glare. "You're asking me to _pay you_ for what happened last night?" He said in a dangerous voice.

"N-No! Well, maybe. I just…look, laddie, I'm trying to run a business here and I…y'know." Eddie offered helplessly.

Ignus gave him a hard look. Finally he grunted vehemently and threw a bag onto the stand. The jingling of coins could be heard.

Eddie nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, laddie."

Ignus remained stoic, though his expression lightened a bit. Eddie had been a good friend to him, despite his somewhat perverted nature. He had given him an easy way into the city, and he had never inquired as to his name or his past, something Ignus appreciated.

As his thoughts shifted to the subject of his past, Ignus felt conflicted, as he had been for the last few days. For years he had buried it beneath a layer of silence and behind a wall of solitude. But spending time with Elsa was changing that. The more time he spent with her, the easier it was to talk about things. About himself, about his past…he wasn't even sure why. Perhaps her ice magic had more uses than they thought, and was slowly breaking his willpower.

But he just wasn't ready for it. Maybe someday he would. It was the most he could hope for.

He shook himself from his brooding. Now wasn't the time for some psychiatric self-exam. He hadn't been this excited in forever. Ignus had been to this kingdom quite a few times, himself, but it was his first time showing someone else around like a tour guide. It was both thrilling and anxiety inducing.

More anxiety awaited him at the other side of the room, however, as Elsa herself had finally descended the stairs.

"Ah, there she is! Cheeks any less rosy this morning, Miss…"

Eddie's greeting faded out as Elsa appeared, and Ignus couldn't blame him one bit. He himself had nearly sucked in three lungful's of air.

Elsa had changed again. She was now wearing dark blue leather pants, which were tucked into a pair of darker boots that came up just above her calfs. She was wearing a white lace undershirt while a sturdy, blue jacket covered her arms, right down to the white gloves over her hands. Her hair was still in a single, loose braid.

If Ignus hadn't known any better, he'd have thought he was standing before a traveler just as experienced as himself.

Elsa seemed a bit taken aback at their responses, judging by the growing redness in her cheeks.

"What?"

"It's…bolder than what I had come to expect of you." Ignus finally said.

Her cheeks reddened further, but Elsa gave him a smile. "I apologize…I did base them somewhat off of yours."

"Don't apologize, lass! Heavens above, you two oughta quit this traveling nonsense and start up a clothing joint! You'd be drowning in coin!" Eddie exclaimed heartily.

Ignus simply smiled at her. "I'm flattered."

Elsa walked down the rest of the stairs. "I must admit, it was a bit…tight at first. I'm unaccustomed to wearing anything other then skirts." She stated, patting her legs. "It's very liberating not to have to lift the hem of my skirt whenever I run, however."

"Glad to hear it." Ignus replied, trying to pull the word 'tight' out of his mind. "Ready to go?"

His question was met with a deep, steadying breath. "Yes. I'm ready."

Ignus smirked at Eddie. "We'll see you, Eddie."

"So long, youngsters. Enjoy the town! Don't let anyone bump into you!" Eddie called over.

Elsa gave Ignus a questioning look as they exited the bar. "What does he mean?"

"I'll tell you in a minute." Ignus said, opening the door.

And they stepped out into the city.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_People._

_Oh my god, so many people._

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god._

"You alright?" Ignus asked.

"Quite." Elsa lied quickly as she looked around at the crowd walking through the streets of Dezertis.

This was a city. This was what was happening outside the window she had looked out of for all those years. She was _walking _in it. People were talking, smiling, eating, and arguing…it was so much to take in. New noises filled her ears, and amazing smells filled her nostrils. There was a man leaning out a window having a conversation with a heavily-garbed woman across the street. Street vendors filled the sides of the road, bartering and haggling everything from rugs to fish custard. She even saw a few camels in the distance. General bedlam filled her ears.

So much was happening at the same time…how did people live like this? It wasn't a criticism; she was simply amazed that people had the ability to do so. She grew up focusing on one thing at a time…there was hardly any diversity in her sheltered, isolated life. She was either focusing on controlling her powers, lamenting the fact that she _couldn't_, or thinking about Anna.

Anna…

Once again, the thought of her sister crept into her mind, and with it, a deep longing. Anna had been the closest thing Elsa had to a friend for all those lonely years. A bit pathetic, considering how they had seldom even _chatted_. But in those lonely days, Elsa was always grateful for the little signs Anna made that showed that she still cared, like the little notes she passed to her, or her melodious knocking.

She'd been cooped up just as much as Elsa herself had. How much would she give to be in a place like this?

Her scattered thoughts condensed when Ignus stepped closer to her.

"Elsa, the hands." He said quietly.

Looking down, Elsa saw that her hands had indeed begun to lightly emit frost. It was subtle, but Elsa knew that someone would notice eventually.

"S-sorry, I was just…one moment." She stammered quickly. She tried to resist the frost, but this seemed to only make it worse, as snow began to fall.

"Just…alright, just…_dammit!_" She hissed furiously at her hands, which refused to obey her. Why was it always like this?! Why did this damned thing _never_ listen?!

She didn't have long to ponder the question, as Ignus had grabbed ahold of her hands suddenly.

The movement was so gentle and reassuring that Elsa couldn't even flinch at it as his fire gently heated the frost. She did, however, look up quickly to meet Ignus' red eyes, glowing warmly at her.

"Any better?"

She was finding it a bit hard to think of words at the moment, so she simply replied, "Yes."

Ignus smiled, sending another spiked heartbeat through her system.

"Just let me know if you need help with it. You'll get it eventually." He said gently.

As he withdrew his hands, Elsa nearly made a noise of protest. Collecting herself, she cleared her throat.

"What…what do we do first?"

"You tell me, Frosty. What's your fancy?" Ignus replied lightly.

Elsa felt a little irk at the moniker. "Is that what you're going to call me from now on?"

"Do you like it?"

"Not really, no."

"Ah, it'll grow on you."

Elsa exhaled in exasperation. "You are the _pinnacle_ of human maturity.

Looking around, she searched her mind for an answer to his question.

"I don't know…a bookstore?"

Truthfully, it was a pretty pitiful choice. Outside in the real world for the first time in her life, and she was asking to see a _bookstore_ so she could hide away and read.

Ignus didn't seem perturbed, however. "Alright then. I know a place that's got a pretty big collection."

Elsa felt the need to question her own decision. "You don't think it's a bit…well, none-to-do with seeing civilization here?"

"Why would I? Literature _is_ civilization, Elsa." Ignus replied sagely. "I personally love reading."

Elsa felt another swoop of affection for the man. "Really? I'd have thought you'd be opposed to sitting in one place for a while."

Ignus chuckled at that. "Reading takes you to places your feet never could."

"Wise words." Elsa agreed. "Books were a manner of escape for me when I was little…and when I was older as well."

"I imagine you had a large collection of books at the castle?"

"Oh, certainly." Elsa assured him, smiling in remembrance. "My father always believed that the wisest king made for the most effective. So he filled our library with books upon books of everything from literature to cooking to Dante's great epics. My mother used to take me down to the library, put me on her shoulders and spin me around while I held out my finger. Whichever book it landed on when she stopped spinning was the one we read together."

A light laugh escaped her throat. Its absence birthed a lump as the memories of her parents flooded her mind. She needed neither to look nor to feel Ignus' hands once again grasp hers to know that her magic was reacting again.

"They sounded like good people." Ignus said quietly.

"They were the best…"

A respectful silence lingered.

"Moving on…" Elsa continued jarringly. "Where is this bookstore?"

"Not far. Follow me." He said, gesturing down the street.

As they began walking, Elsa allowed her eyes to begin wandering again to distract herself from her thoughts. The people around her looked like they hadn't slept in days, or rather, like they didn't _need_ to. People were walking and talking with an energy that'd have made Anna jealous. A man with a brown beard was waving his arms at a vendor, shouting about some eggs. Another man was speaking to a rather attractive woman, although her eyes were fixated on anything but him. Laundry clung to rafters, and there were even a few kids jumping through the rooftops, god help them.

"Whoa, there."

Ignus' hand stopped Elsa in her tracks. Baffled, she looked at him in confusion, only to realize that had he not intervened, her inattentiveness would have caused her to walk directly into a flagpole.

"I know it's a lot, but let's try to keep our eyes straight, alright?" Ignus asked, not entirely hiding the amusement in his voice.

"Sorry." Elsa muttered, embarrassed to the core.

With another small smile, Ignus continued walking. A small crowd was walking towards them as they entered a square. Elsa could feel a few people bump into her as she passed them. One person intentionally slowed his walk, eyeing up Elsa with a lewd smile.

With a small flick of her hand, Elsa froze a small patch of ground beneath him, which he promptly slipped on.

Ignus turned to look at the commotion. He gave Elsa a questioning look.

"My mistake." She said innocently as the man on the ground swore to himself.

Ignus' eyebrow arched, but he smiled, shaking his head.

Then his eyes snapped open, and his arm moved quicker than Elsa had seen in some time. In a second, he had twisted the arm of a man who had walked by him into a backwards "L" position.

"G-Christ! Leggo!" The man said, his lengthy hair flopping around with his writhing.

"You first." Ignus said lightly, holding out his hand.

When there was no reaction, Ignus twisted the man arm again. The man swore louder, and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bag. He slapped it into Ignus' outstretched hand.

"Thank you." Ignus said politely, releasing the man, who dashed away as quickly as he could.

Elsa simply gaped at him, begging for an explanation.

"Pickpockets." Ignus said concisely, jingling his personal coin sack. "Gotta be watchful of people who bump into you."

Elsa took comfort in knowing that Ignus had a reason for the prior acts of subjugation. She also couldn't help but admire his prowess.

They walked a bit further, Elsa making sure to skirt around those who came a bit too close, and reached a building with brick walls and a simple signpost that read "Dazeem's Wares". It had a picture of a pair of hands holding up a book, in the manner of reverence.

"Here we are." Ignus said to her, nodding towards the sign. "Apologies. It may be a bit less…sanitary than the library you're used to."

"I hardly think a bit of dirt is the worst thing I have to fear in this city." Elsa replied.

That elicited a chuckle from Ignus. He motioned to the door, and they entered together.

A soft jingle came from the bell above the door, but from the energy with which the short merchant emerged from behind the stand, one could've assumed it was a cannon blast.

"Welcome to Dazeem's Wares! Home of the finest merchandise east of the river Michael, on sale now!" He said excitedly, his turban bouncing precariously. His eyes hovered over Ignus with little interest, but upon seeing Elsa they focused into a rather comical state.

"Aaaaah, good afternoon to you, my dear! Welcome to my humble little shop. I am Dazeem, your humble servant." He said quickly, sinking into a low bow.

Elsa noted that this man seemed to favor the word "humble". "Thank you. I was told you keep books?"

"Yes, yes of course! Right this way, my dear. Ah! But first…"

He gave her a sneaky look and reached into his sleeve, pulling out a strange object. To Elsa, it looked like a decorative, brass teapot.

"Perhaps I could interest you in this? Do not be fooled by it's outside appearance, my dear-" Dazeem began.

"Not interested." Ignus interrupted, holding his hand up brusquely.

"B-but this is no ordinary lamp!"

"Heard it before."

Dazeem grumbled and put away the strange object. He motioned for them to follow him inside. Ducking through a curtain, they entered into a modest-looking library, with a large number of bookshelves littering the space. An odd scent filled the air, one Elsa associated with some type of incense.

"Please, have a look!" Dazeem said graciously.

Elsa nodded in thanks as she stepped towards the literary works. Perhaps for the first time in quite a while, she felt a kind of security amongst the books. The smell of parchment and ink blended together in the most artistic way, the sight of both familiar and new titles…when she found herself here she almost felt like a normal woman. The feeling seldom lasted, however, so she decided to enjoy it while it did.

Her eyes focused onto the title of a brown book on the third shelf of a book labeled "children's tales". It was labeled "The Celestial Ballad".

"Forgive me, miss, but I did not take you for a fan of the younger material…" Dazeem said, following her gaze.

"I'm not typically. But this book is special." Elsa said simply, picking up the tale and opening it.

"What is it about?" Ignus asked her, staring over her shoulder interestedly.

Elsa felt a small blush at his presence. "An old tale my mother read to me quite often, or whenever I was dizzy from spinning. It's about the love story between the sun and the moon."

"I didn't know there was one." Ignus stated, smiling a bit.

"The sun fell in love with the moon's beauty and radiance, as did the moon with the sun's power and light. But when they tried to embrace, the sun's heat proved too much for the moon to bear. So they were forever separated from each other, never to occupy the same sky, aside from one day every hundred or so years."

"An eclipse." Ignus interrupted.

"Very shrewd." Elsa replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's a bit of a sad story." Ignus continued, looking at the cover. "I would have thought a young girl would have wanted to hear tales of happily-ever-afters and such."

Memories flashed in Elsa's mind.

_Elsa, why do you always want me to read you this one? It's so sad…_

_It's not sad, it's beautiful! So many stories are just clichéd and happy…this one makes you feel things._

_Hmm-hmm…where did you even learn the word clichéd?_

_I read it in a book!_

_Of course you did, that was silly of me._

…_Mama?_

_Yes, dear?_

…_am I the sun?_

_What, honey?_

_Am I…too dangerous to be with those I love? Am I better off being alone?_

_Oh, honey, of course you're not. People like us need the beautiful glow of the sun. We couldn't live without it._

…_I guess you're right. I'm more like the opposite of a sun._

_Shall I call you that from now on? My little sun?_

_Mama, I don't have fiery powers!_

_True, but your ice shines so brilliantly you don't need to._

_Mama!_

_My little sun!_

"I was always a bit of an odd child." Elsa said quietly, so that only Ignus could hear her.

Ignus' red eyes gave her their usual warm glow. "I was as well."

Elsa looked at him with an intrigued glance.

"How so?"

"Well, not a lot of ten-year-old kids learn how to run a bar. By the time I had pimples I was well-versed in how to mix up the perfect rum, how to figure out what the hell people were saying when they were tipsier than a three-legged stool, and how to swear like a pirate with a case of the runs."

Elsa laughed, imagining Ignus shouting out drinks behind a bar.

"It's not exactly an easy thing to picture."

Ignus chuckled. "I agree. A lot's changed since those easy days. I had to learn how to fight when the River found me. I met someone who taught me the means to survive the dangers I faced."

"Who?"

"Actually, I was going to take you to meet him after we left Dezertis. His name is Rysiir." Ignus replied. "I think you'd like him."

Ignus was being surprisingly straight with her. Elsa rewarded him with a smile. "I have no quarrel with that."

Ignus returned the smile. "In the meantime, I'm going to ask Dazeem about a-"

"Thief! YOU FILTHY THIEF!"

The light chat was interrupted by Dazeem's infuriated screams. Ignus couldn't have reacted faster, dashing through the curtain where Dazeem was. Elsa, after calming the spike in her heartbeat, followed him quickly.

"What? What's happened?!" She asked hurriedly.

"That man stole a very precious item from me!" Dazeem cried, pointing out his window towards a retreating figure in brown garbs. "It was worth more to me than-"

His speech cut off as Ignus kicked open the door and dashed off towards the thief, leaving a stunned Elsa and Dazeem to stare after him. The latter looked towards Elsa in utter confusion.

"I…suppose he's going to do something about the theft?" Elsa offered helplessly.

Dazeem's eyes widened, and a look of hope dawned on his face. "I would be inexpressibly grateful. That was my brother's ring…I have kept it with me since he died."

Elsa gave him a sympathetic glance. "My condolences."

Dazeem nodded in thanks. "It is all I have of him. I consider it worth more than my whole shop."

"I understand." Elsa assured him. "I'm sure that Ignus will…"

Something clicked in Elsa's mind.

"Wait…you consider it priceless?"

"I do, of course."

"Forgive my asking but…does the ring itself look expensive or flashy?"

Dazeem gave her a confused look. "Flashy? No, the ring is brass, nothing more. On a monetary level it almost worthless."

"Then…why would that man steal it?" Elsa said to herself. "Unless he somehow knew it was precious to you-"

"Might be the smartest thing I ever heard a woman say."

The voice that slunk from the curtain behind them was slick with maliciousness. Elsa whirled around to see a man in burly brown clothing point a sword at her.

Her pulsed pounded. The last time someone pointed a sword at her, things had gotten destructive…

Dazeem was spluttering. "Who-who are you?! Why are you in my shop? Put that down!"

"Shut your cockhole. There's only one thing I want outta you two, and it's for you to stand over there and pretend to be statues."

"That's two things…" Elsa muttered.

She almost slapped a hand to her mouth as the man shot his eyes towards her. Wittiness was not a trait highly favorable in a time such as this…

"Where I'm from, we knock out the teeth of any whore who talks back." The man stated with devastating honesty, taking a step towards her.

"And I'm certain they eat rocks and spend twelve hours a day trying to stand up straight as well." Elsa replied viciously. Some small part of her said to stop, but a sense of anger was growing, stemming from the misogynistic prick in front of her…

The man's eyes narrowed. Then he lifted his arms.

From behind the curtain, five more men appeared, armed with swords and very foul smiles.

"Won't be so smarmy after that tongue's lying on the ground over there." He sneered with a vile smirk.

Dazeem swallowed in terror. Elsa felt a swoop of fear and adrenaline as the men pointed their weapons at her.

She could already feel the cold bite in the air.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

The sound of hooves echoed through the woods.

It was the only sound to be heard as the three riders trekked through the brush, the last flecks of snow flying out as their steeds galloped further and further.

Kristoff had been sneaking glances to his right for the entire trip. He had been expecting Anna and Hans to take the same horse as soon as he had heard that Hans was coming.

Didn't make seeing it any less irksome…

The shameless pangs of jealousy Kristoff felt were enough to keep him out of conversation for fear of letting them slip through, although Anna and Hans didn't seem to be too chatty either. A bit strange. Kristoff had expected them to go into full-blown cutesies as soon as the trip got underway. Yet it had been almost painfully silent for the last hour.

"So you're an ice farmer?"

Hans' curious voice cut away the silence. Kristoff looked at him briefly and gave an unsure smile.

"Yeah. Been doing it since I was little."

Hans made a noise of approval. Silence returned.

"Dangerous work, I hear."

"Oh yeah. Working atop fragile ice…I've heard about and been in more accidents than I'd ever want to remember."

"What do you do in the winter? When ice isn't in demand?" Hans inquired.

_You'll probably want to lie on this one._ Sven advised to Kristoff with a snort.

"We keep ourselves busy doing odd jobs and such. We typically make enough so as to not have to take up a second living." Kristoff answered lightly.

The truth of the matter was that winter was hell for the two of them. Farming ice was the only thing Kristoff ever knew how to do. Even the odd jobs he took were typically meant for smaller, more precise hands, not his huge, beefy ones. He had considered traveling across the world to follow summer, but it was much too expensive. They just had to live with the dry spell that was winter.

Anna nodded. "I never knew ice harvesting was so dangerous. I always pictured people carving ice out of a wall, or just cutting it off of a mountain."

Kristoff smirked. "Be a hell of a lot easier…"

The redheaded princess seemed impressed, though she said nothing.

_Almost there._

"Gotcha." Kristoff replied to Sven.

"What?" Hans called over.

"Nothing! Nothing just…coughed." Kristoff answered quickly.

Hans seemed unconvinced, but dropped it.

_Am I embarrassing you?_

Kristoff shot him a glance that said "Later".

_If I'm embarrassing you, just say something._

"…"

_Come on then!_

Kristoff smacked the reindeer's noggin lightly. Sven snorted with laughter.

The bickering most likely would have continued had they not reached their destination at that moment. Kristoff smiled as he smelled the mossy plateau and the hot geysers.

"This is it." He called over to the pair.

Anna promptly jumped off the horse, almost landing flat on her face. Hans descended like anyone would have imagined a prince to. Anna seemed to notice as well, due to the embarrassed blush taking over her cheeks.

"I've never seen a place like this…" Hans said quietly, astonished.

"It's so…earthy!" Anna added, giggling as a geyser went off right beside her.

"Yeah. My family's big on nature." Kristoff mentioned nonchalantly.

"Your family?" Hans inquired.

Kristoff was confused by this question for a moment, then realized he had never actually gotten around to mentioning that Pabbie was actually family. Or the fact that his family was…different.

"Okay, I realize this probably should have been brought up on the way here, but my family is a bit…enthusiastic. They're very welcoming, but tend to be a bit, well, rough. And…also they're a bit loud and-"

"Oh, stop it, they sound fun!" Anna said, beaming.

"W-well, they are, but they're also tr-"

"Ah bah bah bah! C'mon, let's just meet them."

Kristoff wanted to say more, but Hans sent him an amused "Perhaps you should drop it" look. Sighing, he held up his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine…then meet my family."

Kristoff held his arms out towards the rocks around him. He waited for what he knew would be shocked reactions.

He wasn't left wanting. Anna's eyebrows rearranged themselves into a look of bafflement, while Hans' face went from curious to the same state as Anna's.

"Erm…where?" Hans asked tentatively.

"Right here!" Kristoff answered with a smirk, pointing at a rock.

Silence.

"The…rock." Hans repeated slowly.

Sven rolled his eyes at Kristoff.

_Just tell them, already. They're gonna think you're insane._

Kristoff chuckled, and turned to the rock. "You can come out now."

Anna and Hans were now slowly beginning to edge away from Kristoff, but both gasped as the rock made a small movement. With a quick roll, the rock transformed into a squat, big-nosed, mossy-haired troll.

"You know we can never resist that." The troll grumbled with a smile.

Kristoff inwardly agreed, seeing the priceless looks on Hans and Anna's faces.

With the reveal came a large amount of other boulders following suit. Soon the entire clearing was filled with thigh-high rock trolls.

"Rock trolls…" Hans breathed. "Oh my god…"

For a moment it looked like he was about to burst out laughing, sending a pulse of outrage through Kristoff. But in the next moment he was sure he had imagined it, as Hans looked so humbled that he could have been standing before royalty.

Anna's hands were covering her mouth. "Wow…"

"Kristoff's home, everybody!" One troll shouted loudly.

"Woo-hoo!"

"Good to see you, big guy!"

"Whoa, he _is_? I can hardly see him TOWERING OVER THE REST OF US TWO-FOOT TROLLS."

"Alright, enough of that, Seddy." One troll said to the sarcastic member of the crowd. Kristoff beamed as he recognized his adoptive mother , Bulda.

"How are you, baby-cakes?" She said affectionately, patting his leg.

"Fine, Ma."

"And you brought guests!" She said suddenly, turning to Hans and Anna. "Welcome to the tribe!"

Kristoff had been hoping that his family would show a bit of restraint when welcoming the two of them (particularly Anna).

Too much to hope for, apparently.

The trolls rushed forward and lifted the royalty, bouncing them back and forth, up and down, around and around until Kristoff found himself wondering whether Hans or Anna would puke first.

"Okay! OKAY! Put 'em down!" Kristoff called desperately.

The trolls continued laughing, but complied. Anna got to her feet, stumbling wildly as Hans did the same.

The trolls noticed, and gave her a meaningful push towards Kristoff, who caught her reflexively.

He had about two seconds to enjoy the moment before reality gave him a friendly slap to the face. He all but pushed Anna away from him. She seemed to have missed the little moment, still reeling from dizziness. Hans hadn't even gotten up yet.

"So who's this lovely little lady?" A troll asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Kristoff tried to speak as quickly as he could.

"This is Princess Anna and her-"

"PRINCESS?!"

"You sly little bastard, I knew you had it in you!"

"She isn't just using you for your *ahem* mushroom is she?"

"HER FIANCE PRINCE HANS!" Kristoff finished, pointing with heavy emphasis at the rising figure that was his salvation from this unholy humiliation his family was putting him through.

Hans noticed all the eyes on him. He hesitantly smiled and gave a small bow.

"Pleasure to meet you."

The trolls did not seem pleased at all.

"Prince Hans."

"Fiance, huh?"

"Interesting."

The trolls looked at each other. Kristoff could see their demented little minds cook up a plan.

Bulda was the one who cut the cord on the anvil.

"Good LORD, look at those feet! It's a wonder they haven't fallen off from the amount of stress in them!" She said in a worried, and completely fake voice. "You simply must lie down a bit! We trolls are wonderful at foot massages, you won't have a better on in the world!"

Alarm shot through Hans' face. "U-Um, actually I-"

"Tut, tut! No need to be humble! Come on, we won't even charge you!"

The sea of trolls that lifted him up and carried him away from the gathered crowd drowned Hans' protests.

Kristoff's insides felt like they had been carved out of his body with a dull axe.

"O-okay! I'll see you later, Hans!" Anna called over to his retreating figure. She then turned to Kristoff. "Do I get a foot massage?"

He had no idea how to respond. "Uh…m-maybe later. For now let's just talk to Pabbie." _And then get the hell out of this nightmare._

"Pabbie! Right…who is that?" Anna inquired.

Kristoff looked down at Bulda. "Can we speak to Pabbie?"

Bulda gave him a look. "Kristoff, dear, you haven't even shown her around! We've only just met her! You need to show her the lake, the Lord Geyser, and your room! She has to see your room!" She added with an affectionate excitement.

"Yeah! Show her your room!" Another troll called out.

"We can bring you tea!"

"STRONG tea."

"You'll be all nice and comfortable for when-"

"JUST. TELL ME. WHERE PABBIE IS." Kristoff was near-pleading at this point, but his embarrassment was rapidly shifting to anger. And while Anna was innocent, she was not oblivious enough to miss what the trolls were implying.

"Fine! Goodness, me, _someone's _a little cranky today!" Bulda said with a huff.

"Mom, there's a crisis! Someone's been kidnapped, and it just so happens to be _her_ sister! Can you blame me for showing a _bit_ of urgency here?!" Kristoff exclaimed in exasperation.

That shut the trolls up at once. Their looks of playfulness turned to looks of direness.

"The Queen of Arendelle has been kidnapped?" Bulda repeated.

"Yes." Anna spoke for the first time in a while, her voice quiet with sorrow.

Bulda looked from her to Kristoff. Then she motioned silently for them to follow. Sven remained where he was.

_Good luck._

Kristoff nodded in thanks. He and Anna walked beside Bulda up over the clearing and up to a small hut with smoke coming out of a chimney on top, though said chimney wasn't even as high as Kristoff's shoulder. He could hear a gravelly voice whispering from inside.

"Come in, come." Bulda whispered, ducking through the entranceway. Anna gave Kristoff a hesitant look, obviously unsure if she could even fit in the tiny hut.

"Relax. If I can fit, you can fit." Kristoff assured her. He then got onto his stomach and pulled himself into the little doorway, trying to get out of the position as quickly as possible.

He managed to sit up inside, the roof just barely brushing the top of his hat. After a few moments, he saw Anna poke her head through the entrance, scuffling to get in.

"Here, I gotcha." He said, grabbing Anna's hands and gently dragging her the rest of the way in. Anna made a little noise as he did, but she allowed him to help. Once she was situated, she looked around at the strange inside of the hut. The walls were covered in odd plants and strange artwork. It was pretty much exactly what one would expect of a hermit shaman's home to look like.

"Wow…" Anna said under her breath, poking a strange blue plant next to her.

"Oh, uh…I wouldn't touch that, my lady." Came a gravelly voice.

Kristoff smiled as he saw Grand Pabbie himself clump into the room, Bulda beside him, looking worried.

Anna's hand withdrew immediately. "S-sorry, I was just-"

"No need to apologize, Princess Anna. It's normal for one to want to inspect that odd plant. Gives a rather nasty rash if the touch is prolonged." He rumbled softly.

Anna gasped as she looked at her hand like it had been contaminated. "Oh my g-what do I do?!"

"Calm yourself, young one." Pabbie said soothingly. He took a small pewter bowl from the table beside him and walked over to Anna. At his gesture, she offered him her hand, and he proceeded to dab on a white salve.

"This will counteract the effects."

Anna breathed in relief. "Thank go-I mean thank you." She stammered. "Um…oh, right! How do you know my name?"

Pabbie looked at her with his wizened eyes. "Well, Bulda just told me a second ago."

Kristoff surpressed a snort of laughter as Anna blushed.

"But I also recognize your face, young one." He continued softly.

Anna's eyes widened. "I-we've met? I'm so sorry, I'm terrible with faces, I can never remember anyone-"

"Oh, don't worry my dear, you had a bit of help in forgetting me."

Anna was brought up short. "Um…what?"

Pabbie exhaled a deep breath. "Princess Anna…if the event a few weeks ago was what I thought it to be, does this mean you are aware of your sister's…condition?"

Anna was surprised by the change of subject, but didn't argue. "Yes. My sister has…magic ice powers."

Pabbie nodded.

"So it is magic?" Anna inquired.

"Indeed it is. A magic that I have not seen in a long time. A magic that can bring great joy, and great sorrow."

Kristoff's brow furrowed as the words hit his ears. This sounded very familiar…

"Anna, we have met before because I healed you when your sister struck you with her powers on accident." Pabbie stated.

Kristoff's jaw fell open as he put the pieces together. Anna was the little girl he had seen all those years ago! However, the sentence seemed to go over her head.

"That's…not possible. I would remember something like that!"

"You cannot remember it because I altered your memory."

Anna was flabbergasted. "You…_altered_ my memory?!"

"Your sister and you were playing one night when you were hit in the head by a stray bolt of magic. It is the reason you have that white streak in your hair."

"Wh-slow down! Elsa and I played together, but we played outside! She hit me with a snowball that had a chunk of ice in it!"

Pabbie was silent, giving Anna a sympathetic look.

Anna's breath became heavier. "I-you…all this time…_why?_" She asked in desperation.

"The ice your sister embedded in you threatened your life. To assure your survival, I had to remove the magic from your memories as well. I strived to keep your love for your sister intact, however."

Anna stared at Pabbie, looking like she wanted to either slap him or shake him.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't Mom or Dad _tell_ me?!"

Pabbie sighed sadly. "Only they could answer that. Us trolls do not typically intervene with human lives, certainly with raising children. The exception being Kristoff, of course."

Anna's face had slowly paled over the course of the conversation, clashing with her red hair and making her appear like she herself was made of snow.

"My dear, I know this is so much to take in…I don't expect a response, and I certainly don't expect forgiveness." Pabbie continued quietly. "Perhaps we should focus on the reason you came to see me?"

Kristoff couldn't help but admire Pabbie's tact. Reminding Anna of why she came here in the first place seemed to jar her back to life.

"…Elsa was kidnapped."

Pabbie's eyes widened just a bit. "Kidnapped?"

"Yes. After the fiasco at the coronation, she ran off to the mountains. This guy…this _sicko_…he followed her up there and destroyed the palace she built, injured the men who had been trying to bring him to justice, and kidnapped my sister."

Pabbie seemed speechless. "Your sister has her magic. Who could possibly do this?"

Anna chuckled mirthlessly. "That's just it. This guy has magic too."

Silence fell.

"…please explain." Pabbie urged.

"Well…I mean I've never _seen _them in person, but the man who tried to capture him, Lionel, told me that he can shoot fire."

Kristoff snorted. "Did a lot more than shoot fire. He blew up an entire palace."

Pabbie looked down in grave concentration.

"Two sorcerers...it's unheard of to have them exist in the same lifetime, let alone _meet_ each other."

Kristoff looked at Anna in uncertainty.

Pabbie muttered to himself silently, like he was going over possible explanations. Finally he met Anna's eyes again.

"Miss Anna, can you describe him at all?"

"Well…no." Anna answered honestly. "He never shows his face. It's always shadowy and dark. But!" Anna yelled, startling everyone in the room and causing Kristoff to bump his head into the ceiling. "He has these terrifying, glowing red eyes!"

Pabbie's eyes shot open as he looked at Bulda, who seemed equally disturbed.

"What? What is it?" Anna asked quickly.

Pabbie looked as grave as Elsa had ever seen him.

"Anna…your sister…when she first came to me all those years ago, I asked her parents if she was born with the powers or cursed."

Anna nodded slowly. "Okay…"

"Your sister was born with the powers she wields…but this man was not."

Anna felt a sharp beat of panic. "He was cursed?"

Pabbie nodded. "It's always difficult to tell the difference, but those who are cursed are always left with a physical sign, as their body has been altered by the magic forced into them."

Kristoff grimaced. "Such as freaky red eyes?"

Pabbie nodded. "That indeed may be the case."

"But is there any way to find him? You're magical people! Don't you have like a…I don't know, magnet or something?"

But she and Kristoff both knew the answer before Pabbie spoke.

"I'm sorry. I cannot sense nor locate magic unless it is in very close range…"

Anna looked like every hope she had inside of her had just been stamped out. Kristoff couldn't blame her.

"So that's it? Elsa's lost and there's nothing we can do?!" She said hoarsely.

"I…I'm sorry."

Anna sat back, like she couldn't take this in.

Kristoff knew that staying here would only serve to increase her hopelessness.

"C'mon, Anna. Let's go back to Arendelle. Every nation knows about your sister now. We _will_ find her."

Anna didn't look up. So Kristoff surprised himself and gently lifted her head with his hand.

"We _will_."

A few tears had made their way out of Anna's eyes, but she seemed to feel a bit better, as she sat up and started wiping her eyes.

"Right…you're right. I'm sorry. To both of you. I know you did what you did because it was right." She said, turning to Pabbie.

The old troll looked like a massive knot had been unfurled in his back. "Thank you, Princess Anna."

As they ducked back out into the clearing, Kristoff saw Hans being carried back to them, and felt his head nearly explode with embarrassment at how roughed up he looked.

"Good as new!" One troll called out.

"You should have seen the shape his feet were in!"

"They were clean as a whistle!"

"They smelled like _mint_!"

"Catastrophical!"

"That's not a word, Lloyd."

"I know! I had to make it up to describe the utter _horror_ that was this man's squeaky clean feet!"

Anna giggled softly as Hans was lowered to his feet, which were now covered in dirt.

"Um…good massage?" Anna said, trying to stop herself from laughing.

Hans didn't look at her, but Kristoff saw his face.

And what he saw terrified him.

Hans' eyes held no care, no comfort. His chiseled face looked like it was ready to murder someone.

Yet when he raised it to look at Anna, it melted away like a snowflake on a hot surface. Back again was the charming, handsome and caring man Hans was.

…or appeared to be…

"Well, it was certainly…new. I suppose that's why trolls have such strong feet, eh, Kristoff?" Hans said, staring straight at him.

Kristoff felt a spike of fear as his eyes met Hans. He felt like he could never look at him the same way again.

"U-uh…right. Yeah. Feet…"

"Something wrong?" Hans asked, sounding concerned.

"Uh, no! No, just…thinking about what Pabbie said. Y'know what, I actually forgot to ask him something else, why don't you fill him in Anna, I'll be right back." Kristoff said hurriedly, turning back to Pabbie's hut.

He found the old troll waiting outside it, a look of grimness on his face.

"Kristoff, who is that man?" Ha asked. Kristoff didn't need to guess who he meant.

"His name is Hans. He's a prince, he's Anna's fiancé, he's nice…"

Pabbie looked at Kristoff as his words faltered.

"At least I think he is…"

Pabbie said nothing. Then he quickly tromped back into his hut. A few seconds later, he returned with a sparkling vial filled with clear water.

Kristoff was amazed something so clean could be found in a troll's hut.

"What is that?" He asked.

"This is the most precious, most rare, and most effective potion I have, Kristoff. It is the most potent healing power us trolls are capable of creating, and it comes but once a millennium that a troll possesses the power to create one."

Kristoff had a newfound respect for the water in that vial.

"Wow…um, did you make that?"

"Indeed I did. It is why I was chosen as the clan's chief." Pabbie answered. "I created this at first to prove my skills as a troll shaman, back when I was younger and more arrogant. Since then I have treasured it, waiting for the time to give it to someone."

"Give it to…wait, no. No, no, no, I can't take this!"

"You will." Pabbie stated in an aptly stony voice. "It is clear to me now that you are about to face hardships Kristoff. This hunt for that girl's sister…it will not be simple. It will not be quick. And it will not be pleasant."

Kristoff trusted troll foresight with all his heart, but why did it always have to be so damn _grim_?

"Because of that, I give you this." Pabbie said, extending his hand. "I only ask that you trust not only yourself, but those around you when choosing when to use it."

Kristoff stared at the vial.

"You think this has something to do with Hans?"

Pabbie grimaced. "I cannot tell…but I know that man is not all that he seems. Anna is trustworthy, and I feel that he may be taking advantage of that."

The idea of anyone taking advantage of Anna sent a feeling of repulse and anger through Kristoff, and was enough for him to accept the gift from the old troll, taking the beautiful vial and tucking it safely into his satchel.

"Okay. I'll take it."

Pabbie nodded. "Thank you Kristoff."

As Kristoff turned away, Pabbie called over to him.

"Ah! I almost forgot. The name of that potion is Mercy."

Kristoff gave him a skeptical look. "Mercy? Oddly simple for you, Pabbie."

Pabbie smirked. "Indeed. But the only way to true peace is through Mercy, Kristoff."

And with that, Pabbie disappeared back into his hut, leaving Kristoff to ponder what he had just heard.

He looked down at the vial. "Mercy…"

His eyes then turned to Hans and Anna standing by the sled talking.

Hans' hidden face came back into Kristoff's mind as he narrowed his eyes. He knew one person that he wouldn't be showing _any_ mercy.

***Wipes Brow***

***Collapses onto couch***

**Zzzzzz**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Shit, shit shit shit shit!_

It was hard to think of anything but profanities at the moment. No one who fully understood his situation would blame him, though.

Garris ran through the streets like a bat out of hell, but he knew he didn't have a prayer.

No bat's wings could out-fly those of Satan's.

Even now he could hear the red-eyed freak of nature following him as he tore through crowds and knocked over stands. Every inch of his body was screaming for him to stop, turn around, beg for forgiveness and pray for the best. Every moment he spent running away from this guy would only serve to anger him more. And Garris knew what happened to people who pissed this guy off.

This job was supposed to have been as simple as a desperate whore. He'd been told to steal a worthless ring, provide a distraction so that the rest of them could sack the shop.

Who the FUCK could have seen Red-Eye coming and cocking the whole thing up?!

It was ironic that he mentioned seeing things coming moments before he ran into a wall, feeling a cracking sensation in his nose and a sharp, brutal pain.

He fell backwards onto his ass, clutching his face and swearing. He could feel blood ooze out of the wound and stick to his hands.

"Hand it over."

The words seemed to set fire to the air. Somehow, being the fucking demon that he was, Red-Eye had managed to sneak right up to Garris without him even noticing. As he stared up at the man, he found himself unable to look away from those cursed eyes underneath that hood. It was as if they were grabbing hold of his own, dooming them to return the agonizing gaze.

"I-I-I swear, I-I only meant to-"

"I don't care. Hand the ring over. Now."

"I don't know what's going on, I swear! They just said to steal the ring and-"

His words were cut off as Red-Eye stamped his foot a mere inches from Garris' face. He squealed in fright.

"What do you mean _they_?"

"Th-the others. They were going to-"

"Sack the place while Dazeem left to chase you…but I chased you instead…"

The sudden change in Red-Eye's insightful tone made Garris meet his eyes again. And what he saw shocked him. It looked like…it was almost like Red-Eye was afraid. Or worried.

The fuck did _he_ get scared of?! Garris didn't want to know.

"Son of a bitch." Red-Eye whispered, looking back behind him, presumably towards where the shop was.

Garris didn't know what was going on. But he did know that no one had ever seen Red-Eye show any emotion. And he most likely would want to keep it that way.

"L-look, just take the ring, okay?! Take it!" Garris pleaded, holding out the damned brass ring for him to take.

Red-Eye didn't react at first. Then he glanced at Garris and snatched the ring from his outstretched hand. Garris exhaled in relief.

Most likely because his didn't see the boot flying towards his face.

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At least her heart was finally getting a good workout.

For many years Elsa had worried about her cardiovascular fitness. Being cooped up in a room for twenty-one years didn't exactly allow running. Or walking. Or any type of exercise at all, really. She'd been certain that if the day ever came where physical application was required, she'd keel over before she ran a quarter of a mile.

But the recent week had certainly been changing that. She'd never felt her heart pound harder in her life. Most likely the reason she could hear blood roaring in her ears as the four men in front of her pulled out knives.

Dazeem swallowed in fear beside Elsa. She couldn't blame him, as sweat had begun to fall from her brow.

The ringleader sneered at her.

"Shame you had to go and run your mouth. You're quite the pretty little thing."

The repulse Elsa felt at the "compliment" was almost entirely blotted out by her panic. Her hands were tingling with cold already. She knew if this situation played out as these men intended, it would end in chilling disaster.

"Leave this place before you get hurt. Please. Don't do this."

She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that the men would snort at this. Sure enough, their drunken laughter rattled the cold air.

God, she knew what was going to happen. She'd lose control. Like she always did. In her panic she honestly contemplated abandoning Dazeem to the burglary, if for no other reason than to spare him from witnessing her terrible secret.

But she missed her chance, as the ringleader's laughter faded. He narrowed his eyes at Elsa.

"Kill her." He said to one of the other men.

Elsa always believed words had power. And it was never clearer than now.

As soon as the man said it, Elsa felt the clutching fear she had back in her palace as those men pointed a crossbow at her.

_Kill her._

_Ice Bitch._

_Monster._

_KILL HER._

_KILL!_

The man's knife flashed as it came towards Elsa.

But her magic flashed brighter.

As her hands rose up to protect her, a wave of ice-blue light flew out from her hands, landing on the floor. From where it fell, a pillar of ice erupted from the ground, plowing into the stomach of her offender.

It was hard to tell who drew the greatest breath: Elsa, Dazeem, the gang members, or the unfortunate man now attempting to reclaim some of the wind that was knocked out of him.

For a palpable amount of time, silence lingered. Every second tightened the knot in Elsa's stomach as she waited for the inevitable reaction.

"Wh-wh-that…" Dazeem stuttered like a clogged instrument.

"Jaysus fuckin' Christ…" Whispered one of the men.

The leader looked like his eyes were about to climb out of his head.

Such fear in those eyes…just as Elsa knew there'd be.

_Why did you make me do this…_

"What in the blood-soaked hell are you?!"

_Why is this happening…why couldn't you just leave?!_

"Don't just GAWK, you stupid bastard, KILL HER!"

A blaze of emotion torched through Elsa. Hearing the words again was too much.

"Leave me _alone!_" Elsa screamed, letting the terror finally rip it's way through her throat and into the air in a single, high-pitched plea.

An explosion of blue shot out from around her, blasting the men off their feet, sending poor Dazeem flying into a bookshelf and shattering windows. With it Elsa drew in a sharp gasp of amazement. There was something different in that burst of magic. She had never felt anything like it.

It was power. Raw, unmitigated _power_. It was no longer some kind of uncontrollable reaction. It was a true, cognitive motion. She felt control.

Elsa didn't even have to concentrate. She simply held out her hands and another blast of ice sprung from her palms and into the shoulder of one of the thieves. He cried out in pain as he went flying backwards, crashing into a bookshelf and falling into a crumpled mess on the floor. The third thief had begun to make strangled cries, abandoning all hope of facing Elsa. He tried to turn and run.

_Try to kill me…_

Ice crawled up from his feet.

_Well, guess what? Looks like you've helped me instead._

The thief shouted in panic, tears now visible on his face.

_Because I can finally CONTROL IT!_

She could no longer feel anything but the power flowing through her. God, had it always been this easy to control her powers? Did she only need to realize how powerful she was? Was this all it took?! The angry and desperate urge to _hurt_ these despicable scum?!

"M-MISS!"

Dazeem's terrified voice broke through Elsa's reverie, yanking her down from her twisted nirvana and into hellish reality. The roaring in her ears slowly faded as she slowly regained some shred of sense. The feeling of power and elation faded like a memory of a dream.

"Wh-what-" Elsa began, but it only took a few moments to see what had occurred.

Or more accurately, what she had done. Her very blood seemed to freeze in her veins.

The shop had frozen over. Every book, every antique and every trinket looked like it had been through an ice age. With every moment spent beholding her work Elsa felt her world shatter more and more. Her mouth opened slightly as her eyes widened.

But the true horror lay before her.

The thief who had tried to run away was entirely encased in ice. His eyes were open within it. Tears that had been frozen to his face were visible.

"No."

It was the smallest, most pitiful voice Elsa ever heard come from her mouth. It reflected every fear Elsa held, every nightmare that ended with a dead human, murdered by her own hand.

And now she was living it.

The man before her was dead. Deceased. Killed. Murdered. His eyes were staring out into nothing…like they were never alive in the first place. The look of horror on his face lingered from his final moments.

Like some kind of backlash, Elsa's body punished her by sending her breakfast, so kindly created by Ignus, out of her stomach and streaming out of her mouth. Elsa could barely make it to a counter before the acrid bile fell from her mouth, falling mercifully out of sight.

She could feel the sting of the stomach acid in her mouth, but it hardly distracted her from the truth.

_I have murdered a man._

_I ended a man's life._

_I'm a killer._

Her body wasn't done with her yet, as it sent stinging tears out of her eyes to join the breakfast on the floor. Her sobs came quickly and heavily.

She had done it. It was all over. She was everything her parents warned her of. She failed.

Al; that was left to do was wait for it all to end.

It didn't seem like she'd have to wait long. The leader of the thieves had survived. Elsa managed to raise a tear-soaked eye to see the man pull out a chain.

"You…you're a monster."

It was so awkward the way the man said it…Elsa had heard the word directed at her before, but now…there was so much disgust, so much fear in that voice that spoke those words, that it made it sting just as it had the first time.

Elsa closed her eyes and waited, surrendering to the inevitability.

Then a loud crack echoed through the shop.

At first, Elsa thought she had simply been too numb to feel the pain that came with the blow, but after a moment, she realized that she had not been the recipient of the loud strike. Prying her eyes open, she saw the thief on the ground clutching his face. Standing above him was a man in a black jacket with a hood over his head.

Normally Elsa would have felt a leap of relief upon seeing her companion, but not this time. This time she felt naught but shame. Because of what she did, because of what she couldn't prevent…

She closed her eyes again, ignoring the three loud cracks that could have only been repeated blows to the face of the thief leader. Like a scared little girl, Elsa waited, leaning on the counter, her head buried into her arms, waiting for Ignus to judge her as well.

There was another length of silence.

"Elsa."

Ignus voice broke through the quiet shop.

"We need to leave."

His voice was so gentle it could have been made of silk, but it was still too much for her to bear.

"Just…" She sobbed quietly. "No. Leave me here. I can't-

"You will."

"I have to-"

"Come on."

Ignus' compassionate but stern voice denied Elsa her macabre wishes. She did not move, but instead loosened her shoulders in a show of surrender.

As Ignus gently put his arms around her and picked her up, Elsa felt herself fading from consciousness. She wasn't certain if it was the emotional overload or some vengeful god actually ending her life for her actions, but she offered no resistance to the darkness clouding her vision.

She glanced into Ignus' eyes one last time, and everything went blank.

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"Please?"

"No."

"Please, please, pretty please?"

"Are you a child? No."

"Sven, make him do it!"

Sven snorted menacingly at Kristoff.

"Wh-No!" Kristoff managed, appalled at Sven's reaction. "It's not something I publicly showcase!"

It had been about two days since the visit to Grand Pabbie. Anna had been spending more and more time visiting Kristoff in the stables, joking, talking, and generally having a good time. It was something Anna looked forward to everyday, most likely because the rest of the day was spent battling depression over Elsa's absence, frustration at the current Arendelle council, who kept pressuring her to step up and accept the crown, and her increasingly conflicted feelings towards a certain sideburned fellow.

It seemed like the only straightforward part of her life right now was Kristoff. Although Anna wasn't even certain of that…she had to admit, he was much more than she thought he was at first. Putting it like that sounded really rude, but it was the truth. Kristoff had come across as brusque, independent…a bit crude as well. But the more she got to know him, the more she saw a humble, caring, and adorably awkward side to him.

And she couldn't deny it…he was quite handsome. He was much more muscular than any man she'd seen, no doubt because of his years as an ice harvester. She had to catch herself several times from staring at Kristoff's arms or chest or his-

Well…it was a good thing she had caught herself.

"Anna?"

Anna's brain quickly destroyed the evidence of her thoughts of Kristoff's physique on the off chance that Kristoff could somehow detect them.

"Y-yes?"

"Nothing, just…you blanked out."

"Oh! No I didn't, I was just…humming. To myself."

Sven and Kristoff stared at her.

"In my…in my brain."

Crickets.

"But hey! Never mind! Play me a song!" Anna gushed quickly.

Kristoff was obviously displeased by the change in subject. "For the last time, no!"

He had been vehemently denying Anna a song for the last ten minutes. Apparently he only felt comfortable singing in front of Sven, even though Anna had overheard him singing in the shed that night.

"Come on! You sounded so good!" Anna continued, playing the flattery card.

"I…first off, flattery gets you nowhere." Kristoff stated shrewdly, followed up by a contrastingly awkward, "Second…no!"

Sven seemed like he was going to actually eat Kristoff. Judging by Kristoff's slow distancing, Anna guessed he had noticed.

"Look…" Anna sighed, using the last weapon she had: pity. "One little song and I'll leave you alone. Please?"

Anna channeled every ounce of cute she had in her body and sent it into her eyes. "Super ultra chocolate coated pleeeeeease?"

Kristoff's reaction told her it was working.

"You don't have to leave me alone…" He mumbled in a resigned voice. "I just don't like singing for an audience."

Anna's puppy face lingered as she put out her lip just a teensy bit.

"Christ, Fine!" Kristoff exclaimed in frustration. Sven knocked a horn against Kristoff's shoulder, clearly admonishing him for his crude language.

Anna couldn't have been bothered less, however, and gave the two of them a very sunny smile.

Kristoff awkwardly cleared his throat. Picking up his lute, he stared at the ground a bit.

Anna gave him an encouraging nod.

He sighed, and then strummed a few strings. Then his mouth opened, and lovely words emerged from it. Anna sat and listened, completely enraptured by Kristoff's natural talent. Kristoff sang a simple song, one Anna had actually heard a few times while listening to bards outside her window, but his voice made it sound so new to her ears.

As she listened, Anna found her heart beating faster and faster. And the realization that her heart was beating faster made it beat more.

_Get ahold of yourself! He's just singing a song! _

_Yes. Yes he is singing a song. For me._

Anna could feel her face blushing more and more as Kristoff's voice caressed her ears.

_CARESSED? What's wrong with you?! It's not like it's that dreamy and perfect and sexy-_

Anna had to physically grab her arm to keep her from slapping herself in the face. Sven gave her an odd look, but Anna was fixated only on Kristoff.

_Please don't notice. God, please don't notice. Just keep playing and keep singing and looking handsome and DON'T NOTICE._

Kristoff looked at Anna while he played. His eyes widened a bit and his eyebrow raised.

"You alright?" He asked, interrupting his song.

"Y-yeah…why?" Anna answered, flashing him a toothy and somewhat disturbing grin.

"Your face is as red as your cheeks."

It was like a firecracker went off in Anna's brain.

"No! No it's not! You're just hot! I mean _I'm _just hot! Yes! I'm on fire! Well, no not really, I'm not dying I just…am…"

_Idiot, idiot, idiot! Don't make him worry, just come up with an excuse to leave before he notices more, beet-cheeks!_

"Food! I mean, feed! I mean…I'm hungry! Bye!"

And she dashed out of the shed.

Kristoff's mouth was slightly open as he turned to Sven for some kind of explanation.

Sven snorted in utter bafflement.

_Didn't realize your voice was THAT bad…_

"I TOLD you!"

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_Attention Arendelle. Princess Anna was found dead last night. The cause of death appears to have been a fatal excess of humiliation._

It sounded accurate in Anna's head. She wouldn't be surprised if her heart simply decided to give up on the poor girl and let her pass away in peace.

As she lay facedown on the couch in her favorite art gallery in the castle, she couldn't stop replaying her brilliant escape plan to Kristoff.

She let out a muffled groan into the pillow, praying that maybe it'd take the memory with it. What must Kristoff be thinking right now?

_Probably that I'm about two-hundred levels of crazy._

Anna couldn't blame him. She had become so flustered that any sane man would have thought her to be having some sort of brain aneurysm.

Why had she become so…embarrassed? Was that even what she had been feeling? It happened so quickly she couldn't even register it. She just became so self-conscious, like some sort of smitten-

She actually gasped out loud.

_Smitten?_

Beneath the utter disbelief, the small part of Anna's brain that made rational decisions deemed this logical. After all, the only other time she had felt like that was when she first saw Hans, although that happened right off the bat.

Her rational thinking was quickly overpowered by the emotional side of her mind.

"I'm _smitten_?! With Kristoff?!" She shouted. Although she was still lying on the couch, so it really came out more like, "Mm sm-mmm?! Mm MM-MM?!"

_God, that's just my luck. Finally fall in love with a picture-perfect prince, and then I decide to go ahead and be a flirty two-timer!_

Guilt welled in her gut at the thought of Hans. What the hell was wrong with her? Hans didn't deserve to be with someone who couldn't even keep her eyes on him for two stinkin' weeks!

Anna sat up on the couch and let out a loud sigh. She didn't know how she felt. She didn't know _anything_.

Elsa would probably have good advice.

Of course, Anna couldn't be sure of that. But during the long years that Elsa had disappeared from her life, Anna had created a sort of pseudo-personality for her. Strange? Yes. Borderline Obsessive? Most likely. But it helped during the lonely nights when she passed Elsa's room.

She always thought of Elsa as mature, in fact that was a given. She was always prim and proper, and always had a look of regality on her that Anna could _never_ pull off. She was also humble, because she never dressed up or tried to show off her beauty. And good _heavens_ she was beautiful. Anna liked to think she herself was cute in a freckley kind of way, but Elsa was downright gorgeous. She had the fair skin, the platinum hair, the perfectly proportioned body…she had it all.

Pulling herself away from Elsa's gifted body, Anna found herself wondering what exactly Elsa's advice about love would be.

In all honesty, it was probably the one thing she _wouldn't_ be good at…she hadn't exactly had a lot of social exposure. She had rarely even shown signs of love to Anna, her own sister. How on earth would she understand the kind of feelings Anna felt?

_Oh please, even she would know how wrong it is to like two men at once!_

Anna was really beginning to hate that little rational part of her brain.

She'd have likely continued her self-deprecating thinking if not for the person who entered the room.

"You seem troubled."

Anna raised her head to the sound of Lionel's voice. He had entered the room so silently Anna barely noticed. His bandages were still on his head, covering a side of his face, and his beard still clung to his chin like a talon.

"Hi, Lionel." Anna muttered in a glum voice.

Lionel nodded in response, standing respectfully next to her.

"How are the burns?" Anna asked him. "You seem to be better."

"I am. Though I'd like to keep the bandages on. No need to ruin any appetites with these scars." He replied.

Anna felt a tug of guilt.

Almost reading her mind, Lionel shook his head. "What happened on the mountain was not your doing, Princess. You need not feel guilty."

Lionel had insisted upon calling Anna "Princess". Although Anna was typically strict about maintaining a sense of informality, she didn't think strong-arming Lionel would get her anything. He was like a brick wall, stoic and sage.

"Any word?" Anna asked him with an air of anxiety. It was the same thing she asked him everyday.

"Not yet. Only a few ambassadors will have arrived home by now, and it'll take longer for word to spread. My organization is searching to the best of our ability, but we've found nothing yet."

Another wave of melancholy sank over Anna, though she smirked a bit.

"Thanks for saying 'yet'."

"Of course. We will find them. It's only a matter of time."

Anna nodded, exhaling like the exhausted girl that she was.

"Lionel, you don't have to stick around. I mean-oh, that sounded awful, I mean I want you here but-"

"You don't want to be overbearing." Lionel interrupted, finishing her thought.

Anna gave him a weak smile.

"Calm yourself. I'm here on my own free will." He continued. His voice was like cold steel, sharp and strong, yet utterly tempered.

Anna breathed outward again. "Thank you. You've been so helpful."

Lionel only gave her a small nod. As he did, Anna decided to tempt fate.

"Lionel, I don't suppose you know anything about love?"

If the question was at all embarrassing, Anna ignored it. She had already surpassed the amount of humiliation she could feel.

Lionel's face held surprise for the first time.

"Unfortunately, Princess, I am trained in the art of survival, not flirting."

"Worth a shot." Anna said, smirking.

Lionel almost looked amused, but before he could say anything, a third voice filled the gallery.

"This is ridiculous, have you no-"

"What's ridiculous is how long it's taken for me to speak to her! I'd have thought a little professionalism would be present in this castle!"

Kai's voice argued with what could only be the voice of the Duke of Weselton. Sure enough, the little runt himself entered the room, his ridiculous wig still attached to his head, though his argumentative words caused his head to bob with their force, making the wig bob ever-so-slightly.

The Duke looked around the room and finally locked eyes with Anna. He gave an exhale, communicating a clear "finally".

"Your majesty, please, I realize this may be an inopportune time for you, but-"

"Of course it is! Have you lost your senses!? I will not tolerate your insensitive and selfish whining in this time of crisis!" Kai interrupted angrily. Anna was a bit shocked, having never seen the loyal advisor so beside himself.

The Duke's ears reddened. "_Whining_? I have an entire country to worry about and you accuse me of _whining_?!"

"HEY!" Anna shouted, getting a bit sick of the back-and-forth.

The two of them ceased immediately, much to her surprise. Most likely due to the fact that a princess said something so unrefined.

"Kai, it's alright. Duke, what is it exactly that you _want_?"

Kai seemed a bit ruffled by Anna's brisk attitude, and Anna couldn't blame him. She didn't mean to sound so rude, but right now the last thing she needed was some kind of diplomatic crisis because of a disgruntled Duke.

The Duke cleared his throat. "Your majesty…I understand that you have a lot on your mind right now, what with recent…revelations."

Kai appeared to be attempting to telepathically smack the Duke. Anna felt a tug of guilt and offense, but remained silent.

"However, I would be letting my country down if I left without some sort of trade negotiation…we are the biggest partners you have, after all." He finished, letting his statement ask the question.

Anna narrowed her eyes a bit while she felt an uncomfortable squirm. Elsa was the one who could make these decisions. She was the ridiculously smart one.

"I…am not sure I'd be able to adequately satisfy your diplomatic needs at the moment, your Lordship." Anna responded, summoning every scrap of formality she had. She felt a swoop of pride when Kai gave her a bewildered, yet utterly pleased glance.

The Duke did not seem impressed.

"Princess Anna, it is in times of crisis when we show our true worth. You would wish to simply walk away from the problems at hand?"

_Hold the phone._

_Did he just call me a coward?!_

_Yes, second inner voice, I believe he did!_

_What a pompous doof! Layeth the smacketh down!_

_I concur!_

"Listen here, _Duke_." Anna retorted, throwing all prior professionalism to the wind. "Princess Anna of Arendelle may be many bad things, but she is _not_ a coward. She just happens to know how to PRIORITIZE. And right now, your greedy little needs are not exactly above finding the rightful Queen of Arendelle and saving her! Comprende, Señor Baldo?!"

She took a deep breath after the little rant. It didn't take Kai's expression or the Duke's reddening face to know that she may have gone a bit overboard.

"Greedy little…you dare?! I am not the one who has been hiding a witch from the rest of her kingdom!" He shouted, his wig bouncing up and down.

"I had no idea that Elsa had abilities like that! And if I did, I certainly wouldn't have ostracized her for it!" Anna yelled back passionately.

"Then you are every bit the foolish little girl we all assumed you were!"

It was a good thing Lionel intervened when he did, as Kai was about to lay the damned old fool out.

"Enough." He stated in his strong and intimidating voice. "I ask that you leave this matter to another day, your Lordship. One where you are not so flippant as to insult royalty in her own castle."

The Duke's face twitched with frustration and fury as he stared at Lionel. But then it changed. It went from anger to shock. And from shock to…was that recognition? Before Anna could react, Lionel abruptly put an arm around her shoulder and marched her out of the room, leaving a sputtering Kai to follow in their wake and a very confused-looking Duke standing in the art gallery.

Anna didn't complain, however. She was glad that Lionel took her out of that situation.

"Lionel, do you know the Duke?" Anna asked him as they walked.

Lionel's expression did not change, as he slowly said, "No."

It sounded so honest that Anna almost believed it. But the look that had been on the Duke's face told her otherwise. Did that mean that the Duke had seen Lionel somewhere before? Somewhere outside Arendelle?

She decided to drop it. It wasn't her business. The only thing she cared about right now was that Lionel was in her corner. It was good to have a brick wall to lean against when you're too confused to walk straight.

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_

Ironically, it'd been quite easy getting out of Dezertis.

Normally, getting out of the city would involve three basic steps. One: Wait until nightfall. Two: sneak to one of the exit gates. Three: Sneak into a passing carriage or cart.

_That wasn't normal, though_. Ignus thought to himself darkly.

His thoughts retraced to the moment the little thieving bastard told him that he had friends back at the shop. Ignus had felt a panic tear through him that he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Snatching the ring, he smashed his foot into the thief's face and raced back to Dazeem's shop. But he could see he was too late before he even entered.

The shop's windows had fogged up and cracked with ice. The air had been crisp and chilly, and a strong wind had picked up and nearly blown Ignus' hood down.

Raw fear struck Ignus as he imagined what they had done to Elsa.

Barely five seconds later, he had kicked down the door and burst into the shop, desperate to make sure Elsa was alright.

She had been all right.

But the thieves were not.

Two of them were unconscious and had begun to freeze like the rest of the shop, ice crawling up their legs and across their skin like an acrid disease. Ignus had felt a nauseous pang as he watched in shock. Then he had felt a full pang of horrific realization as he beheld the third member, frozen solid in a block of ice, his screaming face locked in place.

Elsa herself had been leaning against a counter, her head in her arms. Everything about the stance had told Ignus what she was feeling. He could smell the vomit from where he stood.

Then he saw one of the thieves come at her with a knife.

The worry in his stomach had turned to rage.

He had grabbed the wrist of the man and sunk his fist so far into his face he was amazed it didn't break through. But he wasn't finished. The man went down, and Ignus had jumped onto him, pumping his fist back and forth three more times.

Back and forth.

Teeth flew.

Back and forth.

He had felt blood on his knuckles.

Back and forth.

He had felt the jawbone break.

After that things had to be done quickly.

Ignus had picked up Elsa, given the ring to a shellshocked Dazeem, and fled. He ran as fast as he could with Elsa in his arms, unmoving and silent.

He was so focused he had hardly noticed snow falling in the city.

Elsa's emotions were the cause, obviously. Not even religion could explain a snowstorm in the middle of the desert. In summer no less. People's jaws had been dropping left right and center. Zealots screamed through the streets, warning of Armageddon.

No one had guessed the cause of it all had been the beautiful woman in the arms of a hooded ex-mercenary.

There were about five exit gates along the borders of Dezertis. They allowed people to leave, but none to enter. Typically they had long lines and heavy security.

It had been abandoned and unguarded when Ignus arrived at one, however. People were too busy marveling at the impossible blizzard around them.

After that Ignus had run. Then he ran further. Then he walked.

Finally, he had collapsed at his current location, an oasis he'd discovered about a year ago. There were a large amount of trees, and even a functioning ecosystem, evidenced by the wildlife of frogs and birds.

Ignus sat by the small pond, washing his face and trying to make sense of the situation as the birds chirped softly in the night.

He had lit a fire a few feet away from the lake. Elsa was lying on her side right next to it, still unconscious. Ignus had tried to wake her, but to no avail.

He splashed his face once again. Then he brought his fist down hard on the water's surface.

"Dammit!"

He couldn't help but curse himself for his foolishness. His idiotic sense of heroism sent him after that little scumbag. Why? Some pathetic desire to show off to Elsa?!

He splashed his face again, growling about his own uncertainty. Standing up, he pulled his hood back up and tried to calm down. He'd been through a lot, and he knew that the only way to move forward was to do just that. So he began to formulate a plan as to where they were going to go next. They'd have to get as far away from Dezertis as possible, as news would definitely spread of the freak blizzard. It was only a matter of time before the River caught wind of it.

He walked back over to where Elsa lay and sat beside her, letting the familiar warmth of the fire wash over him. He once again found himself staring at Elsa, but this time it wasn't out of an immature attraction to her. He felt stark sadness, the kind that one only feels for another. Elsa had just lived through her worst nightmare because of his carelessness. Now he could only sit by the fire and watch over her like he should have done hours ealier.

Then he saw her gently stir.

Her eyes slid open just a bit.

Ignus waited. For a reaction, for a biting insult, for tears…anything. But after a minute of silence, Elsa simply closed her eyes again.

He felt an anguished chill. _She's suppressing the memory…maybe even reality itself._

"Elsa." Ignus said quietly, hoping to rouse her.

No reaction from the despondent blonde.

"Elsa, hiding away and pretending like it never happened will only make it worse."

Elsa's form tightened slightly, like she had silently communicated, "Want to bet?"

_This is for her own good…_

"Elsa, get up."

…_Right?_

"Elsa!" Ignus said again, a bit more forcefully this time.

"Stop."

Her one word response had more force in it than any scream could have hoped to have. It was deadpan, void of emotion…like she had stopped being human.

_Dammit, this is bad…this is really bad._

Ignus had been here before. That point where you just don't care…when you're simply willing to accept whatever fate waits for you, when you forget about everything you love. It was worse than any anger or pain one could imagine.

Ignus knew what he was about to do could very well cost him an arm or a leg. But leaving Elsa like this was not an option. He grit his teeth and twisted his thoughts into dark and sadistic ones.

"Fine. Wallow in self-pity like you always do." Ignus spat, turning away from her figure. The sneering words were like glass coming out of Ignus' throat, but he continued nonetheless.

"God, how pathetic. I'd have thought a 21-year-old Queen would have had a bit more backbone. So you made it snow a bit? So what? Is that why you're acting like a sad old hag?"

Ignus wanted to hit himself. He sounded like a pretentious, ignorant little shit. He was losing his confidence in this being the right thing to do, but he was in too deep now.

"All those years of hiding away, all that time spent in your room…it was never about the powers, was it? You were just seeking attention. Like you are now, sitting there like a cripple. Just _begging_ to be shown pity and sympathy. _Oh, I'm Elsa! I can make it snow a teensy bit! Please pray for my soul each and every night!_" Ignus finished his derisive mocking with a healthy snort.

The air itself seemed to freeze. The fire had gone out. Ignus didn't dare look at Elsa. He knew it was seconds away.

One more push.

"I can't believe it…all those years Anna was left all alone…all that pain she must have felt…just because you were being selfish."

CRACK

The slap would have hurt plenty by itself, but add about an iceberg's worth of cold to it, and it felt like it was a cannonball rather than a hand.

Ignus fell to the ground, feeling his jaw, which he was amazed hadn't fractured, as Elsa's seething figure rose above him.

Ignus knew that anger was always better than despair. But seeing her frosty eyes glowing viciously at him was making him think twice. Her hair had come undone and was blowing in the wind she was no doubt causing.

_Here we go…_

"Selfish?! SELFISH?!" Elsa screeched at him. Her fury seemed to be beyond words, as she slapped Ignus again, harder this time.

Ignus coughed and spat out a bit of frozen saliva in his mouth. He was silently grateful it wasn't a tooth.

"You insensitive COCK! You know absolutely NOTHING ABOUT WHAT I HAD TO GO THROUGH!"

Another slap. Ignus felt ice on his face.

"YOU THINK I SOUGHT _PITY?!_ I SOUGHT TO PROTECT MY FAMILY! THOSE I LOVED!" Elsa screamed at him. "I SACRIFICED MY _CHILDHOOD_ SO THAT THEY'D BE SAFE! I SUFFERED THROUGH EVERY-LONELY-NIGHT…" She had now abandoned the open palm in favor of the closed fist, "EVERY HOPELESS DAY HOLDING ONTO THE SHRED OF HOPE THAT SOMEDAY IT'D BE DIFFERENT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT?!"

Elsa whirled around the opposite direction, livid and anguished beyond anything Ignus could have imagined. Ignus could taste blood as she continued.

"IT'S NOT! NOTHING'S CHANGED! I'M STILL RUNNNING! I'M STILL HIDING! AND I STILL HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING CONTROL!"

The pond had frozen over. A whirlwind of snow formed around Elsa.

"I JUST KILLED A MAN! I J-Just…oh, Jesus…"

Elsa doubled over, putting a hand to her mouth. Ignus was inwardly relieved Elsa had already emptied her stomach back at the stand, lest she do it again in front of him.

She gulped in air like a drowning man. Then she turned around again, staring at Ignus with blood and tear stained eyes.

"Do you think…I ignored Anna's knockings because I wanted her pity?! I was afraid I'd kill her! I was afraid I'd kill everyone! And I just got proof that I was right!"

Ignus slowly got to one knee to look at Elsa, who was staring at her hands like they were instruments of torture. Tears finally began to spill down her beautiful face, like rain against a windowpane.

"Why…am I like this? Why did I have to have this? Why must I bear this curse?!"

In an utter lapse of judgment, Ignus laughed lightly at her words.

Elsa looked at him with such betrayal and hatred that Ignus wouldn't have been surprised if he dropped dead on the spot.

"I've asked those questions so many times." He said quietly.

To his immeasurable relief, Elsa seemed to calm slightly. But her eyes were still narrowed in contempt.

"Oh, now we're feeling sympathetic? Good, because apparently that's what I've wanted the whole time!" Elsa shot back spitefully.

Ignus shook his head. "I know you don't. I know you've never been selfish in your life."

Elsa actually laughed at that. A short, derisive laugh.

Ignus staggered to his feet, still dizzy from Elsa's furious blows. If she felt guilty at all about it, she certainly didn't show it.

Her face did show some emotion when he removed his jacket and tore open his shirt, exposing his chest.

Elsa's initial expression of shock and embarrassment was replaced by a look of horror.

Ignus had never shown anyone the scars on his body. Not even to Aren. A small sadness broke through him as he saw Elsa's expression. He didn't want to show her this, or to disgust her with this sight…but this was the only option he could think of. He'd ponder how pathetic that was later.

"Elsa, I've been through a lot too. And I'm not trying to undermine your pain, or your strength. But I just want you to know I do understand. And I want to help you."

Elsa's eyes traveled down his chest, and Ignus felt a shameless sense of exhibitionism. To any onlooker, it would have appeared that he had just ripped his shirt off in front of a pretty young lady. But he knew she wasn't staring at his muscles.

He wondered vaguely if she was counting the scars on him. It was actually seven. Some of them looked bad enough to be two, however.

She continued to stare in silence, then at last her head lowered, and she stared at the ground.

"But it doesn't change who I am. What I am."

Ignus sighed as fire rose form his chest, covering it with another black shirt.

"No, it doesn't. But it can help you accept it."

"Accept it?! How am I supposed to accept it?! I'm a MURDERER!"

"No you're not, Elsa." Ignus said quietly.

That brought Elsa up short. For a moment it seemed like she dared to believe him. Then she shook her head ruefully.

"I froze that man solid."

Ignus raised a hand, producing a bright flame.

"And I unfroze him."

It was true. The man Elsa had frozen had been tricky to remove from the ice, but Ignus had managed to free him without causing any (major) burns. He had been shaking, and most certainly traumatized, but very much alive.

Elsa's eyes shone in the moonlight.

"I…then I…"

Ignus simply nodded.

"But I could've…I mean I almost-"

The air was silent for a while as crickets softly chirped.

Elsa then fell to her knees.

Ignus was beside her in an instant, supporting her.

She didn't seem sad so much as exhausted, and Ignus couldn't blame her one bit. But as she looked up at Ignus' face, he saw a flash of shock pass through her.

"Oh my god, you're bleeding!"

Ignus gave her a wry smile as he wiped his mouth.

"You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"God I…I'm so sorry I just…" Her voice cracked.

Ignus shook his head, giving her a signature small smile. "I was asking for it. I thought that giving you an output for all that emotion would help you. You were so devoid of life I was beginning to worry."

"I was…" Elsa whispered, wiping an eye. "I felt so…dead. So tired of everything. But hearing you say those things…it made me so angry, but so alive again. It brought me back. You were absolutely correct."

Ignus didn't really want to accept that the only option was one where he was beaten senseless, but he let it go.

"Seeing you up and kicking is worth a beating any day." Ignus stated simply.

Elsa opened her mouth to say more, put Ignus put a hand up.

"You've been through too much for one day. Sleep. We can talk…discuss everything."

Elsa looked at him with her beautiful eyes. Then she leaned ever so slightly against his shoulder, sending shockwaves through Ignus.

"I'm lucky to have you with me."

Ignus met her blue eyes with his red ones.

"You deserve a friend."

Elsa smiled as she closed her eyes. It didn't take long for Ignus to feel her slow, silent snores.

He could have kept her on his shoulder for a long time, but he decided to let her rest in a more comfortable position. He carefully laid her on her side, close to the fire.

As Ignus stared into it, he felt a slow burn inside himself. Like the true beginning of something had started.

Elsa would certainly face more fears. That reality even he couldn't deny. But she would never have to face them alone. Not anymore.

He stared so intently at the fire, he didn't notice a single blue eye open, staring at his silhouetted figure with the same determination he felt as he watched the dancing flames illuminate the trees.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Gabe wasn't one for diplomacy and debates.

He knew his job and he knew it well. Protect the Duke. Obey the Duke.

Sometimes that second one got a bit messy.

He and Erik, the clean-shaven fellow he had worked with for about a year, were following the Duke from Arendelle castle after the less-than-successful negotiation with the Princess.

"Gentlemen, we need to get in contact with that Lionel fellow. Privately." The Duke said suddenly.

Erik sent Gabe a confused expression, which he returned.

"Thought we were here to discuss trade." He stated.

"We are. But sometimes discussions require a bit of…assertion. The Princess is young and naïve, but she is also stubborn. She won't take another's word over hers, unless it someone she trusts. Which brings me back to Lionel…"

"You wish to use him?"

"Indeed." The Duke responded, stroking his moustache. "If we can have him enter into an "agreement", his word will win over the Princess, ensuring a rather lucrative deal."

"How do you propose we approach him? Blackmail?" Erik asked.

The Duke's mouth curled into a twisted smirk.

"Right again."

"How? He seems to be an experienced man…what can we get on him?"

"It's not what we can get, it's what we already have."

Another confused expression passed between the two bodyguards.

"I've met the man before. He assaulted me in the alley the other day. Right after the Queen's episode, but _before_ her disappearance. He even asked me about her and the one the call 'Red-Eye'."

Gabe's mind clicked.

"I do believe our dear Lionel knows more than he is letting on about her majesty the Queen's absence." The Duke continued mirthlessly. "It'd be a shame if her majesty the Princess were to find out. And she may well, if he does not submit to my commands."

Erik stared at the Duke.

"Sir…you really need to stop saying these things out loud…"

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Jack wasn't called nimble for nothing.

As he sprinted down the road, he skillfully avoided every stray rock that threatened a broken ankle. Others would never admit it, but he was pretty sure he wasn't being arrogant when he said he was the best messenger in Dezertis.

He was almost about to reach the second exit gate. Seeing a stable nearby, he ran up to it and approached the keeper.

"One horse, please." Jack asked, showing him coin.

The man nodded, and walked over to hitch up a steed.

"Strange day, ain't it?" The man asked him.

Jack exhaled in amazement. "Incredible. Some people are calling it the end of the world, a sure sign that Satan is among us."

"They've more reason to than usual." The man said, grunting as he lifted the saddle and throwing it over the horse.

The freak blizzard had been the strangest thing to happen in Dezertis since the massive duck migration they had ten years prior, where they had a catastrophic breads shortage from the amount of ducks passing through.

This was a bit less ridiculous, and a whole lot more supernatural.

_But that'll make it all the better_. Jack thought to himself, leaping atop the horse.

"Ah, well these are hardy folk. They'll forget about it soon enough." The man said, finishing the saddle with a satisfied tug. "You're all set."

"Are you kidding?" Jack asked, smiling. "People will never forget this."

He held out a scroll for the man to see.

"Official royal documents. Sending out to every nation from here to Corona. Details the whole thing."

He smiled as he spurred the horse.

"Every kingdom in the world is gonna know about the Great Desert Freeze."

**Hope you enjoyed. That was a long one, but surprisingly easier to write. Hope to continue the pace.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note – 11 chapters in and this story is now officially longer than all my previous works. Kind of pathetic in retrospect…**

**Eh. I was young.**

**Thanks for your patience, enjoy the chapter. As always, reviews and art of the story or characters is immensely appreciated and welcome.**

**-TheStanfordExperiment**

Chapter 11

It had been about a week since Elsa left Dezertis. And her body was certainly beginning to show the effects. A few blisters had formed at her feet, which stung painfully every time she took a step. Her legs were constantly aching from the walking and hiking. She had forgone her jacket in favor of a simply and mercifully light blouse.

For the first time, she was truly living on the road, as Ignus had warned her of. Though he had made it sound like a life of hardships and struggle, Elsa found herself having quite an enjoyable time, and it helped distract her from the fiasco in Dezertis. She loved seeing wildlife she'd only read about and feeling the sunlight on her skin (before Ignus would force her to cover up and protect her skin). They would often sleep under the stars, and Elsa found herself wasting an hour of sleep just staring at the night sky, counting constellations she recognized from her copy of _Arendellian Astrology_.

Of course, the somewhat embarrassing reality was that she wasn't really _living_ off the land, per se. You couldn't really claim credit to your own survival when a tall, dark and powerful individual was escorting you, providing food and altogether covering all aspects of your survival for you.

Even now, Ignus was putting his skills to work getting food for the two of them. After about three days' worth of walking, they had left the dry, scorched badlands around Dezertis and reached a lush valley between two hilly regions. They were now resting beside a large lake beside a towering cliff, with a rushing waterfall cascading from the top.

Ignus himself was in the lake, knee deep in water and standing as still as possible, his sword gripped tightly in his hand. He didn't have his shirt on (something Elsa was taking shameless notice of), but to her disappointment she had found that his hood was actually detachable from his outfits. It still clung stubbornly to his head, refusing to allow Elsa to discover his full face.

Ignus was so quiet it was uncanny. Elsa understood what he was doing well enough. Stand still to attract fish, then spear one with his sword for food. It was basic survival.

However, Elsa couldn't help but find it amusing, him standing there and staring down like a crazy person.

"How's it coming?" She called over loudly, promptly jolting Ignus and scaring any potential meals away from him.

Elsa stifled a giggle as Ignus took a steadying breath and turned around, his red eyes narrowed in annoyance beneath his hood. His chin was set in an irritated clench, and his lips were pursed.

"It _was_ going great." He answered shortly.

Elsa smiled innocently at him. He didn't seem amused.

"I'm not standing here for fun, you know. Another move like that and you can kiss dinner goodbye." He stated sullenly.

"Or I could just freeze the lake. The fish couldn't be that hard to get then." Elsa said casually.

Anyone who knew Elsa well would have been astonished to hear her so nonchalantly mention her powers. But in the week since the Dezertis blizzard, Elsa had had very little contact with people (aside from Ignus, who she had no worries about using her powers around). It had been a relief to get away and spend time alone, unafraid of hurting others, like she had on the mountain that day. With that relief came much less hassle from her powers.

She did occasionally have an episode, usually because of the memory of what she almost did in the shop. The sight of the man standing before her, frozen solid…

Elsa had since made a promise to herself. Two actually. One, never let that happen again, and two, don't let the incident ruin her. She had practically died that night outside the city, in the wake of her catastrophic outburst. But Ignus' cunning and willingness to help her brought her back (at great expense to himself, no less. Elsa had apologized at least several hundred times.) Since then, Elsa had experienced a truly paradoxical feeling: being _afraid_ of being that afraid.

So she had focused instead not on that day, and not on her powers, but on her little odyssey. She drank in all the scenery, savored every odd meal she ate, and was beginning to enjoy Ignus' company. Though he was still enigmatic and a bit distant, recently he had begun to brighten some, and even began to open up a bit more.

"I'd rather not have to mine through the lake excavating fish, thanks." Came a dry retort, bringing Elsa back out of her thoughts. Ignus was once again standing still, concentrating on his task.

"Maybe you could boil the lake." Elsa called again while nonchalantly adjusting her boots.

Ignus didn't move, but his quiet reply reached across the water.

"That'd be a bit sadistic to the fish."

"As opposed to stabbing them through the heart?" Elsa replied, snorting lightly.

"Are we going to discuss the ethics of fishing all day or will you actually let me concentrate?"

Grinning slyly to herself, Elsa decided to let the man work.

After about ten minutes of silence, Ignus' sword flashed, and in the next moment Elsa beheld a decently sized fish skewered on the end of it.

Ignus promptly turned and came back to shore, sand sticking to the bottom of his bare feet. He then surprised Elsa by removing the fish from his sword, throwing it in the air, and slicing it's head clean off. Elsa made a surprised sound as it landed inches away from her.

He sent her a smirk. "I'd hate to breach any morality codes by making it suffer too long."

Elsa gave him a reproachful look, but her mouth curled into a smile. Ignus could be quite cheeky when he felt like it, though in this case she might have provoked it from her intentional meddling.

In about half a minute, Ignus had started a hearty fire. He then retrieved two sticks and sharpened them. Spearing the fish on one of them, he handed the kebab to Elsa.

"You go ahead and get started." He said, walking back towards the lake.

As Elsa watched him walk away, the realization she had earlier that Ignus was single-handedly taking care of her nagged its way back into her brain.

She couldn't let him do _everything_.

"No, it's fine!" She called over quickly. "You can have this one. I'll catch another."

The words were out before she could decide how they sounded, and more importantly what they implied. Ignus turned back to face her with a look of healthy skepticism.

"Really?"

In the face of his overwhelming doubt, Elsa felt a tinge of offense.

"Yes, really. I don't need you doing everything for me." She countered, a bit more harshly than she intended.

_Lovely. Now you sound both needy and ungrateful, _She thought to herself.

Ignus however, didn't seem perturbed. He merely smirked and shrugged his shoulder.

"Have it your way, your majesty."

He walked back over to the fire and promptly put on a shirt, picked up the kebab, and held it out over the fire, humming to himself.

Elsa simply stood there like an idiot, realizing that she had just put herself on the spot with absolutely no clue how to proceed. To her intense embarrassment, Ignus looked at her and gave her a knowing grin.

Refusing to turn back and face Ignus' smug rebuke, Elsa threw off her jacket and boots and waded into the water, which got colder almost immediately. Concentrating hard, she waved her arms in front of her, allowing the magic in her to flow free, just for a minute.

A simple, yet efficient spear appeared in her hands. Elsa grinned, proud of her small show of control.

Stepping into the water, Elsa stared into the clear liquid and ceased movement. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she scanned out the water, looking for any sight of potential dinner.

There was no sign yet. Elsa's heart began to pound faster with anticipation. Her chest began to hurt.

Another few seconds passed, and Elsa felt like her chest was on fire.

It was then that she realized it wasn't excitement causing that pain. She was holding her breath.

Gasping loudly, Elsa stumbled in the water, nearly falling over as she sucked in air. With all her effort spent on staying still and quiet, Elsa hadn't noticed that she'd been depriving herself of oxygen, and subsequently scared away any fish that had even come close.

"Did you forget to breath?" Came a certain voice, floating sweetly across the lake and burrowing deep into Elsa's pride.

Elsa ground her teeth as she reaped what she sowed.

"Why don't you go ahead and start eating! You must be hungry!" She called over, avoiding the topic of him distracting her.

"I find this much more satisfying than food." Ignus replied. Elsa could picture the snarky smile on his face.

It was like a fire of determination lit in her stomach. Ironic considering Ignus' abilities.

"You don't think I can do it?" She challenged.

"I never said that. I just don't think you can do it on the first day you _try_ it." Ignus replied calmly.

Elsa raised an eyebrow, feeling a playful sense of competition. "And if I do?"

"If you do what?"

"What happens if I can catch a fish right here, right now?"

"I'd be quite impressed."

"And?" Elsa continued.

"My dear Queen Elsa, are you trying to elicit a gamble?"

"I mean, if you don't feel confident enough…" Elsa replied, smirking to herself.

She could hear Ignus' amused laughs.

"Fine. You want to make a bet? How about this…if you can't catch a fish within a half hour, you'll let me to call you any nickname I wish. Including 'Nippy McSnowski'."

A revolted shiver coursed through Elsa.

"And If I do?"

"Then I'll surprise you." Ignus responded simply.

"Surpr-what? What kind of a bet is that?!"

"Elsa, you know me. I'm very surprising." Came Ignus' voice again, feigning hurt.

While she didn't quite trust the tone of his voice, she could nevertheless not deny that. Maybe he'd speak a bit about himself? Some actual closure with her shadowy companion was a tempting offer.

"Very well. Deal." Elsa responded, smiling.

With the knowledge that she was most likely about to be known as "Frosty" for the remainder of her time with Ignus, Elsa stared out into the water and calmed herself, slowing her movement and breathing to a standstill, though making sure not to actually hold it in this time.

Minutes passed. Or at least, it seemed that they did. It was so quiet and still Elsa honestly would've believed an hour had gone by.

Her neck began to ache from staring down so much. She was contemplating moving it when a sudden movement caught her eye. A small haddock was nearing her.

Elsa felt every nerve in her body tense as she realized she could actually pull this off. And that realization made it ten times harder to remain calm. Her aches multiplied as she tried not to twitch. The small haddock came closer and closer, swimming about, backing off a bit at one point and then inching back towards her.

As it came less then two feet from her, Elsa suddenly found herself doubting her spearing abilities. How could she ever spear that fish successfully on the first try? She'd either miss completely, or her thrust would be so clumsy that the fish would notice before the icy point found it's mark.

As soon as the word icy entered her head, Elsa came to a realization. A _normal_ person could never do this first try…but perhaps she could cheat a little.

The haddock was now a foot away. Elsa consciously held her breath this time as she leveled the spear at the fish, closing one eye for clarity.

All her thoughts condensed into one word, which she shot from her mind and into her magic:

_Extend_.

The spear stayed exactly where it was in her hands, but the end of it surged forward with deadly precision, stretching down into the water and breaking the surface, not making a sound.

Elsa stared down into it, daring to hope that somehow she had pulled it off.

And then she saw the little haddock flailing at the end of her spear.

Disbelief coursed through her as she beheld the pitiful little thing impaled on her spear. Then that disbelief warped into giddy amazement.

Every ounce of her wanted to shout and cheer, but she reigned in her wild emotions, and instead turned to face Ignus. She saw to her immense pleasure that he was trying to hide a look of complete shock.

Not intent on wasting this opportunity, Elsa sauntered over to the fire and promptly began roasting the fish over it. She then turned and raised an eyebrow smugly at Ignus.

"Tch…not bad, your highness." He finally said, smirking in amazement.

"I think it was a bit more than 'not bad'." Elsa replied. "Who was it that said I'd never get it on my first try?"

Ignus shook his head a bit.

"I guess that's a point to you."

"I believe it is also a surprise to me, correct?" Came Elsa's readied response. She had no intention of letting Ignus back out of the deal.

Ignus must've noticed, judging by his sudden tensing.

"You must feel pretty impressive right now."

Elsa held herself up. "Only a little."

Ignus nodded. "But you know…it'd be a shame to let something humiliating happen right after that. It'd ruin the whole feeling."

A cautious nod was Elsa's only response as she sensed the foreboding tone.

"Such as…forgetting that you speared that fish on an _ice_ pike…which you are now holding over a _fire_…"

Elsa managed to whirl around just in time to see her arduously won fish fall from her melted spear and straight into the fire, burning immediately.

Ignus' delighted chuckles were like pouring a mixture of lemons and salt on her gaping, embarrassing wound.

"I-that…!" Elsa stammered, but there was no redemption to be found with words. Her face quickly flushed as she felt all the pride she what just earned slip away and burn up, much like the fish that was now black in the middle of the campfire.

Ignus was actually heaving with laughter now. Containing himself as best he could, he reached into the fire and plucked out the fish, the flames licking harmlessly against his skin. He then handed Elsa his own perfectly roasted fish and bit into the charred one he just retrieved.

"I like burnt food more." He stated, smiling warmly.

Part of Elsa didn't want to take the fish out of pride, but her hunger won out. Sighing in exasperation, she took the kebab and gingerly bit into the fish. It tasted a bit oily, but the smoky flavor overcame it.

"Good?" Ignus asked her.

"Yes." Elsa replied. Then, after some resistance, added "Thank you."

Ignus grinned again. "Don't worry, you'll have the chance to laugh at something stupid I do eventually. And let's not forget that while you may have dropped it into a fire, you did actually catch a fish by yourself."

To anyone else, catching a fish would have been little reason to celebrate. But Elsa, having first-handedly experienced how difficult it could be, felt the excitement and pride return from before.

"Well, I did cheat a bit." Elsa admitted, letting some of her competitiveness fall away in favor of the relaxed atmosphere they were entering.

"Ah, It's not cheating if you're simply using your skills as best you can." Ignus said, nodding at her spear. "Well done with that, by the way."

Elsa smiled at the compliment.

"Now, then, uh…I guess I have a bargain to fulfill." Ignus continued, sighing.

Elsa looked at him with surprised eyes. "I didn't think you'd bring it up by yourself!"

"Hey, I own up to my bets." Ignus said defensively. Then he looked down, staring at the ground with his red eyes. He seemed to be lost in thought. A moment later, he wrung his hands and looked back up at Elsa, smiling.

"Alright. I'm gonna need you to close your eyes."

Elsa would've been skeptical of anyone telling her to close her eyes. But the fact that it was coming from Ignus made her feel just a bit more nervous than usual.

"Why?" She asked, trying to sound calm.

"It's not going to be a surprise if you don't close your eyes." Ignus insisted.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing weird." Ignus assured her.

"Then why do I need to keep my eyes closed?"

"Is this 20 questions?" Ignus finally said, exasperated. He then leaned over and stared directly into Elsa's pupils.

"Elsa, I know I asked this once undeservingly…but do you trust me?"

The words washed over Elsa as she realized what he was asking.

Did she trust him? Him? This shadowy, hooded man whom she knew seldom more about than a stranger?

This strange, quirky man who'd made her laugh, blush and smile?

This odd person who'd taken a crossbow for her, pulled her from the depths of her depression, and altogether had kept her alive these last few weeks?

The answer seemed to present itself.

Sighing resignedly, Elsa closed her eyes, communicating her answer to Ignus.

For a minute, it was silent. Ignus said nothing, and from the sound of it, was doing nothing. But the prolonged silence was only making Elsa more uncomfortable. Every nerve was on edge, waiting for a touch, or perhaps a scare. What on earth was he doing?

"Ignus, can I open them?" She finally asked, unable to stand it.

"Okay, wait…look down first."

Elsa did so.

"Okay, now open them."

Elsa's eyes flew open, and as they adjusted to the light, she could see a sentence written on the ground, Ignus' so-called surprise.

_Cashews come a fruit grown on trees._

The simple fact was one Elsa actually knew. She had a small book full of odd trivia back at the castle that she sometimes read for fun. However, the humorous fact did little to temper Elsa's indignation at Ignus' little cop-out.

"Oh, yes, truly a surprise." Elsa drawled as she glared at Ignus. "I don't know why I'm surprised, why I expected perhaps some actual trust instead of this stupid little tri-"

The disappointment she felt was enough to distract her for a moment or two, but as she looked at Ignus, she felt her indignant words fall away as her face warped into an expression of amazement and disbelief.

Ignus didn't have his hood on.

Instead of a shadowy face, a chin and two red eyes, Elsa was now staring at the face of a young man who couldn't have been more than two years her senior. He had spiky mane of black hair and prominent eyebrows. He had a faded scar running across his left eye and another at the base of his chin. His ears were of average size and flat, and his nose was button-like. A shadow of stubble grew around his face.

For all this time, Elsa had imagined some sort of hardened, powerful warrior lay underneath that hood, tempered with age and experience and the maturity he (usually) displayed. And yet the only part of him that reflected those traits were those weathered, dangerous red eyes. The rest of him looked so…unassuming. Even more so when he gave her his signature small smile, which held so much more uncertainty than before.

"Verdict?" He asked.

Elsa could barely speak. Good lord, it was like Ignus had transformed into a different person! There was actual emotion behind that question!

_He looks so shy!_

"You look…I mean…I don't know!" Elsa finally managed.

Ignus contemplated that, though her response must've embarrassed him a bit, as his cheeks colored moments after she spoke.

_He's blushing. Oh my god he can blush. I didn't even…oh my god._

"Well, better or worse than the hood?" He asked again, seemingly looking for a compromise.

"Better!" Elsa practically screamed it out loud, but the idea of Ignus withdrawing back to his antisocial disguise after finally showing his face was something Elsa did not want to leave to chance. "Good heavens, better!"

This seemed to please Ignus, who smiled more broadly at that. Elsa felt her heart squeeze just a bit at how cute that little smile was.

"Told you." He said, leaning back a bit and putting his hands on his knees. "I hold up my ends."

"So I see. This is quite the surprise." Elsa said faintly.

Ignus chuckled awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair. Then his eyes widened.

"Oh my…how long is my _hair_?!" He exclaimed, getting up immediately and running to the edge of the pool of water, skidding to his knees and staring out at the water.

"Saints and fucking _martyrs_!" Ignus shouted as he saw himself. "I mean-sorry, it's just…Jesus, I haven't seen my hair this long in years!"

"How long has it been since you've seen your face?!" Elsa asked incredulously, walking up next to him.

That seemed to humiliate Ignus further.

"I uh…it's been a while." He responded. "Last time I saw it, it was barely an inch long."

Elsa tried to imagine Ignus' face with inch-high hair. It wasn't pleasing. The slightly long, spiky thing he had going was quite attractive, in her opinion.

_But let's keep that to ourselves._

Ignus mussed his hands through his hair, sending his black locks flying to and fro. As he took his hands away, Elsa saw to her amusement that they fell into the same spot that they had lain before.

Then she noticed something else. She moved a bit closer to Ignus and stared carefully at his hair.

"Ignus, is your hair _red_?" She questioned, pointing at a few red strands.

Ignus smiled apologetically at that. "Oh…yes. I mean, no. My hair's black but…well, ever since I was young some of them just grow that color. I don't know why. My mom said it was a gift that made me special."

Elsa nodded. "It certainly is unique."

"My father said it made me indecisive."

"What?"

"Well, since I couldn't even decide what color hair I wanted, what hope was there for anything else?" Ignus asked, smirking.

Elsa laughed once. "True. You couldn't even decide on a good alias back at the castle."

That stuck a blush on his face.

"Sir Spice, was it?" Elsa continued.

Ignus groaned.

"Or was it Colonel Oregano? Reginald Rosemary? Captain Chili?"

"Please stop." He moaned into his hands.

Elsa laughed lightly at his expense. Ignus slowly met her gaze again, rubbing his face with his hands.

"I'll have you know I'm typically very good with aliases."

"Oh really?" Elsa countered, raising an eyebrow. "Examples?"

"I once disguised myself as the Pope while I was in Vatican City."

"Oh, please!"

"I led an entire sermon by myself. You should have been there, it was neat. I had the little staff and everything."

"Ignus!" Elsa interrupted, half-laughing at the ridiculousness.

"Then I was able to pass myself off as Nicholas the First. I almost succeeded Alexander as Emperor of Russia."

Elsa was now giggling into her hand, waving an arm at Ignus for him to stop. He laughed a bit as well. Sighing Elsa leaned back and looked at Ignus.

"Why did you show me?" She asked. "I mean…you seemed so scared to before."

Ignus' expression darkened a bit from it's previously light position. "I was. I haven't shown anyone my face in a long, long time. I just wanted to keep to myself, become a bit of a ghost, I suppose."

Elsa longed to ask why, but she knew Ignus would never tell her. He had already exposed so much of himself.

"But after I met you…I guess it just started to seem kind of idiotic. And you told me so much about yourself, about things I know were hard for you to speak about with anyone. You don't deserve to travel with someone who's too scared to even show his face."

A light, sweet sensation of trust bubbled up from Elsa's heart. Ignus trusted her enough to show her his face, something she did not take for granted.

"Thank you." Elsa said simply, beaming. "Thank you for everything. And for this."

Her red-eyed friend smiled back.

"Don't mention it, your majesty."

The regal phrasing made Elsa shake her head again, knowing Ignus was once again poking fun at her.

"Well…let me tell you a bit about where we're going." Ignus said lightly.

"You said something about seeing your old mentor, correct?" Elsa asked, remembering his words back in Dezertis.

"Exactly. He lives about a day's journey from here inside a volcano."

He was about to continue when he saw Elsa's flabbergasted expression.

"Not an active one." He clarified.

"Oh, thank heavens. _That_ makes it less odd." Elsa state, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, it's strange, but I promise it'll make sense when we get there." Ignus assured her. "He enjoys keeping to himself."

"Must've rubbed off on you."

"Ha ha. He also grows a lot of plants and gardens. Now, that may sound weird to do in a volcano, but-"

"Volcanic soil is highly fertile. I read about it." Elsa said. She smiled uncertainly when Ignus shook his head chuckling.

"Right, sorry. I should really stop trying to teach you."

"Well, don't do _that_. I didn't read about pickpockets in Dezertis. Or how to pull out crossbows out of people." Elsa chided. She may be intelligent, but she certainly lacked in the street-smart department.

Ignus' eyebrows popped up and down as he sucked in some air through his teeth. "Yeah…seems like my teachings are a lot less pleasant than yours."

"How is your shoulder, by the way?" Elsa asked, reminded of the fact that this man did, in fact, have an arrow in him a few weeks ago.

"Much better." Ignus responded at once. "I mean it!" He insisted, seeing Elsa's skeptical look. "Here, look…"

He pulled down the collar of his jacket a bit to show Elsa the newly formed scar on his shoulder.

"One more for the collection." He joked, smirking.

Elsa couldn't find much humor in the joke, however. Remembering Ignus' scars, she couldn't help but feel more pity for the man, as well as curiosity. Ignus must've read her expression, as he looked into her eyes apologetically.

"Someday. I promise we'll talk about them. But not right now."

What else could she ask for? A great deal actually, but Elsa figured Ignus had done enough for one day. And yet she as she spent the rest of the day conversing and chatting with Ignus, she couldn't be rid of the irksome question nettling at her mind.

What on earth had happened to Ignus to traumatize him to the point of complete anonymity?

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"My name is Hans. I'm tall and handsome and eloquent. I can sing well, have amazing sideburns, and also walked right out of a dream!"

Anna's deepened voice animated the little doll in her right hand. It was not a figure of Hans, however. It was one of her childhood playthings she had kept for all those years. She found no humiliation to be had in treasuring childhood memories, and had preserved them safely in a little chest beside her bed. Besides, sometimes you just needed to hug something.

This situation, however, called for a different means of utilizing the doll. Anna was trying to sort something out.

"And I'm Kristoff!" Anna continued in a much deeper and more sardonic voice. "I'm a big, burly, incredibly muscular mountain man. I have great eyes, impossibly perfect hair, and I can sing too!"

The teddy bear in her left hand bounced lightly as Anna animated him with her hand movements.

"Well, I have a horse! And I'm incredibly calm under pressure and always have your back Anna!" Came Pseudo-Hans' reply.

"Big deal. I have a reindeer that I can _talk_ to. Also I fight wolves and spend time with you when you're sad!"

"Well, you smell like a shed and pick your nose!"

"You wanna fight, pretty boy?!"

"Your majesty?"

Anna nearly shrieked as the third voice entered her room. Whirling around, she all but threw the playthings back into the chests, slamming the lid shut.

"Yes?! What is it?!" She called back breathlessly, her face red.

The door to her room gently creaked open, and Kai entered with all the poise he possessed in the years Anna had known him, which is to say her whole life.

"You have been alone in here for a long time." Kai replied, sounding concerned. "Is everything all right?"

"Fine! Yeah, you know me, just…spending time. With myself. And nothing else." Anna replied, mustering an innocent smile.

The butler raised an eyebrow in amusement, closing the door behind him.

"Eighteen years I've known you, Princess Anna. And in those eighteen years I have come to know when you seek a little advice."

Anna stiffened. "Advice? Advice on what? I don't…need advice on mmrmfm…"

Her wavering voice died out as Kai's gaze swept aside her pretenses.

"I thought perhaps I could provide some better companionship than your childhood beanies, you majesty." He continued, with just a hint of a grin.

Anna's face erupted into a red frenzy. "I wasn't talking to the beanies!"

Kai raised another eyebrow, looking at the chest. Anna followed his gaze and to her horror saw that one of the arms of the dolls poked out from beneath it's lid, her having not noticed it in her rashness.

"Convince me not to jump out the window right now." Anna muttered to her butler.

"You'd leave an awful stain for me to clean. Now perhaps we could discuss what's troubling you rather than contemplate the fleeting rewards of suicide?" Kai replied coolly.

Anna sighed and nodded, taking a seat while trying to will the blood out of her face.

"I'm in over my head." Anna said quietly.

Kai laughed once. "I told myself the same thing as soon as you and your sister were born."

Anna looked at him with melancholic eyes. The butler took immediate notice and reduced his sarcastic tone.

"Is this about Prince Hans?"

"Yes…I mean, it's about him and Kristoff. I just…Kai I don't want to be a bad person, or a bad fiancé…oh god, I'm a fiancé now. I'm getting married to a handsome, amazing Prince and yet my spoiled, stupid little brain keeps-"

"You are uncertain of your feelings." Kai simplified her rant.

Another nod.

Kai drew a breath, taking a seat next to Anna. "Your majesty, you may not believe it, but I myself was once quite a fetching man."

Anna did her very best not to do a double-take. It was difficult to imagine the bald and pudgy Kai to have ever been "fetching", much as she loved him.

"I once courted a woman whose blonde hair was the fairest you'll ever see in your life. Although that may be contested by your sister." Kai added, smiling fondly. "She was beautiful and talented, and she could cook the most divine puttanesca you could ever taste, she cooked for most of her life you see-"

"Kai."

"I digress, my apologies. It was while I was courting this woman that I met a rather attractive young woman. She was a brunette, very sweet, quite curvaceous-"

"Kai!"

"She and I became very close friends. She'd help me to understand the ways to capture the blonde's heart, and even give me tips as to charm her parents. She was always on my side, always helping me to get what I truly desired. She even helped me select a ring."

Kai then smiled and looked into Anna's eyes.

"The day I went to propose to the rich blonde, my brunette friend wished me luck and ran. I could hear her sobs as I walked away. And the moment I knocked on the blonde's fancy door, I knew."

Anna stared at him. "Knew what?"

"I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I ran from the house as fast as my legs could carry me, and I scoured half the city before I found my friend at a bar, toasting sadly to my happiness."

"Kai…was this _Gerda_?" Anna asked, suddenly piecing together the story.

The old butler grinned. "Indeed. And in that bar, with the very ring she helped me select for the blonde, I asked her to marry me."

Anna could have done a spit-take. "You what?! But…how could you-"

"Princess Anna, Gerda put her own happiness aside for my own. Every day she tolerated my idiotic fawning over another woman and taught me ways to confront and talk to her. I can only imagine how much pain that must have caused her. I realized when I knocked on that door that the one who truly loved me wasn't the one who I thought would make me happy, it was the one who'd give _anything_ to _make_ me happy."

"Wow…what happened to the blonde?"

"Well, it turns out I had actually made the right choice for more than one reason. This woman was actually a Princess."

Anna blinked. "Um…and?"

"She was a _married_ Princess."

"…oh."

"Yes, I had a similar reaction. Apparently she had married a Prine about six months prior to my meeting her. She had actually been a peasant for her entire life, working for her family. Then there was something about a ball, a glass slipper, and presto. She was now a high-class Princess, and apparently the status had gone to her head. One lover wasn't enough for her…"

Anna's eyes widened. "Geez, nice lady!"

"Indeed. I'm certain history will remember her as the selfish woman she really was. But do you understand my point? " Kai urged, staring at Anna.

"Yes, I do, but…neither of them are as megalomaniacal as that woman." Anna insisted. "I just-"

Kai sighed, seeing Anna's expression become more conflicted.

"Anna, do you want my honest opinion?"

She started a bit, surprised by Kai's serious tone. Then she nodded slowly.

"No one finds true love in one day." He continued.

The denial Anna had felt at the coronation flared up again. "You don't know-"

"This blonde woman thought she did."

Anna's mouth snapped shut.

"She was wrapped up into believing a handsome prince she just met was everything she could have ever hoped for. And six months later she was desperate for a lover."

Kai leaned back and stared out Anna's window.

"Princess Anna, I'm not trying to turn you away from Prince Hans. But it's time you got the idea of true love out of your head."

Anna looked down, feeling a twinge of shame.

"I…guess we may have rushed into this." She whispered.

Kai looked back at her and beamed. "You're more intelligent than you give yourself credit for, your majesty. I'm certain you'll find a way to be happy."

And with that, he stood up and left the room.

"Oh, by the way, let me know if you ever need new beanies, I can always order more from-"

He had to exit quickly as Anna had thrown a pillow at his chuckling figure.

Shaking her head, Anna looked back at the chest, with the little hand of the "Hans" doll she had created.

Perhaps it was time to make a mature decision for once.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

"…I see."

The dejected sound in Hans' voice did nothing to soothe Anna's spiking shame. He was handling it with as much grace and dignity that she had come to expect, but no one could've taken the news of a terminated engagement perfectly.

"Hans, please, _please_ understand that this doesn't change the way I feel about you." Anna urged quickly, moving close to him. "I just…I think we rushed into this."

Hans looked into her eyes with his gorgeous hazel ones. He sighed sadly.

"I know. I get it, I just…thought you felt as strongly as I did."

It was like the words punched Anna straight in the heart.

"I do! I do, I just…" She looked down. "You really, truly don't have _any_ hesitation about spending the rest of your life with me after a few weeks?"

Hans considered this. And to Anna's mixed relief and sadness, she saw him purse his lips in agreement.

"I guess we got caught up in the moment."

Anna felt a warm uplifting sensation at this.

"So…maybe we can just get to know each other a bit better?" She asked quietly.

Hans looked at her again. Then he smiled and offered a hand.

"My name is Hans. Pleasure to meet you."

Anna grinned and shook his hand.

"My name is Anna. Pleasure's all yours."

She was beaming so radiantly Hans wasn't sure if she had meant to be coy or not.

"Um…you realize it's 'pleasure's all mine', right?"

Anna wilted. "Oh god, is it? I always get them mixed up, like I want you to have pleasure, but it comes across as me being rude, but I don't want to be greedy by taking all the pleasure and-"

Hans' laughs interrupted her little spiel. With a bashful shrug, Anna laughed along with him. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the little doll she had used to portray Hans.

"Here." She said, offering it to him.

Hans took it with amused curiosity. "And who is this?"

"One of my beanies from when I was little. Precious childhood right there. I want you to have it. As an apology."

Hans smiled. "You don't have to apolo-"

"I know. But I want to. Is that okay?" Anna interrupted.

Hans' eyes softened to an adorably gentle level. "Of course. I'll treasure it always."

Anna's heart soared at his kind words. Even more so at their situation. She had all the time in the world to get to know Hans all over again.

But in another moment, all the others problems came back. How to feel about Kristoff. Her sister. The outlaw.

Sighing, she began to walk away. "I need to go find Lionel real quick. I'll see you later?"

"Count on it." Hans returned.

Content, Anna left Hans in the hallway with the doll.

Had she stayed even a moment longer, she'd have heard the sound of fabric and leather being torn apart by infuriated hands.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Night had fallen in Arendelle.

The summer heat had faded with the sun's glow, replaced instead by the moon's cool aura kissing the landscape.

It was in this moonlight a solitary figure walked through the abandoned streets.

It was almost 4:00. Lionel often operated at this time during night assignments. It was the witching hour, when the fewest amount of people would be awake.

Skirting around the edges of town, he came to a stop in the middle of an alleyway.

He waited a few minutes.

Then three cloaked figures appeared before him, quietly approaching him.

Lionel lit his lantern and placed it on a barrel beside him, illuminating the face of the Duke of Weselton. He and his two cronies stopped about three feet in front of Lionel, each removing their hoods.

"Search him." The Duke muttered to the man on his left. The man approached Lionel, who held out his arms for frisking. After a moment, the man stepped away again.

"Clean." He grunted.

The old man nodded.

"You know why you are here?" The Duke asked quietly.

Lionel nodded.

"Your note was quite clear."

"Then you are aware I know it was you who assaulted me the other day."

"As I said, the note was quite clear."

The Duke snorted and his two bodyguards shifted intimidatingly.

"Your purpose for tracking Red-Eye and the Queen is of no concern to me. However, there is a matter I wish to ask for you assistance with."

Lionel did not react.

"Very well." The Duke continued, unshaken. "I want you to convince the Princess that Weselton's trade is a matter of utmost importance. You will coerce her into signing a generous deal with us. That is all. Rather simple, I should think."

Still no response from Lionel.

"If you refuse, I will reveal your connection with the Queen's disappearance, as well as your assault on a government dignitary." The Duke continued. "Cooperate, and this will all end rather quickly and easily. I, like all wise men, do not seek to complicate matters any further than need be."

The continued silence of Lionel seemed to be beginning to irritate the man. He eyed Lionel with caution.

"I am aware that you are no slouch when it comes to physical prowess, but I promise you, you will not be twisting any arms with these two around. Especially considering you are unarmed and they…"

The two men finished the Duke's sentence by pulling out individual swords.

The Duke chuckled. "You understand."

Lionel drew a deep breath.

"I do." He stated.

"Excellent. Then, as a final act of collateral…"

The Duke took out a small book. He flipped through the pages, showing Lionel the contents.

"This is a forged journal detailing your plans to assault and kidnap the Queen. You will sign it. And should you try to skive off of our arrangement, this shall be given to the proper authorities. If not by me, then by my men."

Lionel nodded slowly.

The Duke nodded to one of the men, who drew his sword and slowly leveled it at Lionel.

The Duke held out the forged journal and a quill.

"Sign it."

Lionel stood still for a moment, then picked up the pen and stared at it.

"Why not simply strongarm me?"

The Duke laughed once. "I am no barbarian like yourself. We do not simply point an arrow at someone and swing a blade about threateningly. No, the sophisticated mind understands that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Lionel nodded.

"How true."

And with a sharp movement of his arm, he dug the point of the quill deep into the throat of the Duke of Weselton.

The white-haired man barely had time to gag before Lionel forced his hand sideways, viciously raking the quill across the man's jugular and leaving a half-inch gash.

Blood sprayed from the wound with such force that it landed in the eyes of the man beside Lionel, whose shock was too staggering to properly react in time as Lionel beat aside his leveled blade and drove the quill an inch into the man's skull.

His eyes glazed open in shock as his mouth struggled to form words. As red began to cover his face, he fell to his knees and collapsed backwards, knocking over the barrel and breaking the lantern.

The third man, by this time, was beyond any hope of counterattack. His partner and lord had just been murdered before his eyes in a split second, and more gruesomely than he could ever imagine. His mouth gaped open in horror as he stared at the terror in front of him, the blood on his coat illuminated only by the shine of the moon.

Then he moved.

But before he could even run two steps, he felt arms around his neck. With crushing strength and even stronger conviction, Lionel snapped his arms apart, hearing the familiar crack of a man's broken neck. The man fell forward, dead.

The Duke was still on his knees, the color slowly draining from his face, which was now white enough to match his hair. His throat and the front of his cloak was drenched in red.

He managed one final gurgle and fell to the floor, unmoving.

Lionel stood in the alley for about fifteen minutes. A lone man and three dead bodies.

Then two masked men appeared, bearing three lines upon their sleeves. They stared at the bodies and then looked at Lionel.

"Take them to their ship. Kill anyone else on board and set sail. Once you've sailed about a day, destroy the ship and return to shore in the lifeboats." Lionel spoke quietly.

The two men nodded, and immediately began gathering the dead bodies.

Lionel turned to a third masked man, who approached him.

"There's been a development." The man whispered.

"Explain."

"Dezertis…the entire town experienced a massive blizzard two days ago."

Lionel's eyes widened a fraction of an inch.

"The Queen."

The man nodded.

"What of the boy?" Lionel asked.

"Red-Eye? There has been no word."

"…How long before the news reaches Arendelle?"

"About a week."

Lionel looked down in heavy thought.

"I must remain here. To leave now would raise suspicion from the Princess. I must continue to convince her of what happened that day. Find the Queen and the boy. Detain them. Kill them before I speak with them, and your bodies will be on the next ship I send to burn."

The man nodded, turning immediately and sprinting off.

Lionel looked at his bloodied hands and stroked his beard.

_Dezertis…he's done it again._

He narrowed his eyes slightly. The boy's determination to live was certainly impressive.

But he was willing to bet that it would die along with the Queen.


End file.
